Mr. John D. TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he last discussed fisheries policy with(a) the Republic of Ireland and (b) the Scottish Office; and if he will make a statement about co-operation on fisheries policy with both the Republic and Scotland.
§ Mr. AncramThe last occasion on which fisheries policy was discussed with the Republic of Ireland by Northern Ireland Office Ministers was at the Anglo-Irish conference held in Dublin on 28 January 1994 when inland fisheries was the economic and social item on the agenda. United Kingdom sea fisheries policy is co-ordinated by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the last occasion when all EC Fisheries Ministers met was at the 20 to 21 December Fisheries Council when the Minister of State, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food led the United Kingdom delegation on behalf of the whole of the United Kingdom including Northern Ireland. The next meeting of the Council will be on 12 April. Officials of the Department of Agriculture for Northern Ireland are in constant dialogue with their colleagues in the other United Kingdom Fisheries Departments including the Scottish Office and as necessary with the Department of the Marine in Dublin. My noble Friend, Baroness Denton, has as recently as 23 March written to United Kingdom colleagues about aspects of fishery policy as they affect the Northern Ireland industry.