Ireland will have tens of thousands of tonnes of fish deducted from its quotas in the coming years and faces losing up to €40 million in European funding after an EU investigation into the State’s application of Common Fisheries Policy rules. The findings of the formal administrative inquiry undertaken by the European Commission were delivered to Minister for the Marine Charlie McConalogue before Christmas. The decision to conduct the inquiry was taken in 2019 after a commission audit the previous year in Killybegs identified serious deficiencies in the Irish fisheries control system. Mr McConalogue is set to begin an engagement with the European Commission on the inquiry and the package of measures. The draft audit, which was conducted in March of 2017 in Killybegs, said this “undermines the ability to ensure an effective control system”.

Source: The Irish Times February 15, 2021 13:25 UTC