The Minister for the Marine, Noel Dempsey, has accused Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny of "playing to an audience" over his pre-election proposal to restore a full marine minister to cabinet if returned to government.
Mr Dempsey has also said he supports a more transparent European system of fisheries control, whereby "all information" is pooled by member states, which would replace the current system of national control.
Speaking to The Irish Times yesterday, Mr Dempsey said he was "delighted to see that Fine Gael has suddenly discovered there's a marine sector". However, he would like the party to be "more informed".
"Talking about a marine minister on its own sounds good when speaking to a marine audience, but Mr Kenny's party colleague, Michael Ring, thought it a terrible insult when Mr Kenny tried to make him a spokesman on the sector," Mr Dempsey said.
Fianna Fáil was currently working on a document on the marine, which would cover not just fisheries but also research and the development of maritime communities, Mr Dempsey said, and this would be fed into the party's pre-election manifesto.
Any decision in relation to restoring marine to a full cabinet position would be a matter for the party leaders in a new government, but the current arrangement, whereby the brief was held by a junior minister, was "working well", Mr Dempsey said.
However, Mr Dempsey acknowledged that the current Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) was "far from perfect", and he intended to push for a more transparent monitoring system involving shared information by all EU member states.
"I agree with the proposal by the Green Party's marine spokesman Eamon Ryan in this regard, as if we are going to have a CFP, we have to have a common enforcement policy and common information - which can probably be done through the new sea fisheries control agency being set up in Vigo."
Ireland is currently establishing a new sea fisheries control agency, based in Clonakilty, Co Cork; a new liaison system with the Garda Síochána is being established; and tenders are being sought for a review of the current fishery control regime.
Mr Dempsey recently undertook his first fishing port visit to Castletownbere, Co Cork, in an attempt to repair relations with the industry in the wake of the controversial Sea Fisheries and Maritime Jurisdiction Bill.
Mr Dempsey said the European Commission is currently "in discussion" with the Government in relation to an additional 35,000 tonnes that may be deducted from the national pelagic quota, due to alleged illegal fishing dating back to 2001, he said.
