asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the present position in relation to securing a 50-mile exclusive fishing limit for this country.

As the Deputy is aware, the Foreign Ministers of the Community discussed the question of fisheries at their meetings in The Hague on 29th and 30th October, 1976, and in Brussels on 15th and 16th November, 1976. At those meetings I reiterated our demand for an exclusive coastal zone for Ireland, adequate to ensure the continued development of the Irish fishing industry.

At the meeting in The Hague on 30th October, 1976, the Ministers agreed that the provisions of the common fisheries policy, as further determined by the Act of Accession and adapted to take account of the extension of waters to 200 miles, would be so applied as to secure the continued and progressive development of the Irish fishing industry on the basis of the Irish Government's fisheries development programme for the development of coastal fisheries.

At that meeting I made a statement on behalf of the Government of which the council took note and which was recorded in the minutes. This was to the effect that in the view of the Irish Government the continued and progressive development of the Irish fishing industry can be secured only by the establishment of an exclusive coastal belt of up to 50 miles and that the Government consider agreement on the coastal belt issue to be a precondition to the adoption of new directives by the council for substantive agreements with third countries on the reciprocal fishing rights which would be designed to follow on the conclusion of framework agreements and of such interim arrangements as may be required before substantive agreements on quotas and zones can be put into effect.

At the council meeting on 16th November, 1976, I stated that I hoped it would prove possible to agree on sufficient elements of the internal fisheries regime in order to secure the application of the agreement reached at The Hague with effect from the date when the 200 mile zone comes into effect, that is, 1st January, 1977. I added that if this did not prove possible the Irish Government would have to take as a temporary measure and in consultation with the Commission and the interested member states, interim steps to ensure progress towards the achievement of the objective in respect of Irish coastal fisheries agreed at The Hague on 30th October, 1976.

Is the Minister aware that fishermen and the nation as a whole are gravely concerned that the Government seem to be getting away from the idea of the 50-mile fishing zone and we are talking in terms of a 30-mile zone? Will the Minister tell us what the position is in this matter?

I do not think there is public concern. I think the people are satisfied that we have made significant progress without conceding anything. Secondly, no reference to a 30-mile zone has passed my lips or those of my officials in any discussions or negotiations. Any such reference in the newspapers is newspaper speculation. I am not aware of any proposals for a 30-mile limit. All we have said is precisely what I have stated in my reply, that we consider that the continued and progressive development of the Irish fishing industry can be secured only by the establishment of an exclusive coastal zone in belts of up to 50 miles.

Will the Minister tell us why he did not contradict the statement in regard to the 30-mile limit when it was published and thus let the fishermen see that he was interested in pushing the question of 50 miles?

There is a physical difficulty about contradicting every speculative newspaper report on every issue, nor do I think it is necessary. I have, however, sought to clarify fully for the fishermen the position of the Government by writing an article for a fishery magazine which will come out shortly. I think it is important that fishermen should have the maximum first-hand information on the position and I hope the article will help to clarify the position on these points. In so far as there is any confusion arising from the reference to 30 miles, I am grateful to the Deputy for giving me the chance to clarify it. There is nothing whatever in that proposal—there is no question of a 30-mile limit and there has not been in any discussion.