The Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources has warned that vessels fishing illegally in Irish waters could have their licences withdrawn.

Dr Woods was responding to recent fines totalling £1 million imposed in the UK for fishing offences in Irish and UK waters.

"I think we are coming to the time when we will want to give consideration to the revoking of licences, which is an administrative rather than a court action."

He said it was time to give a very clear warning that such activities would not be tolerated.

The Fine Gael spokesman on the marine, Mr Michael Finucane, suggested that the cases before the British court represented no more than the tip of the iceberg. It had been said at the court hearing that some of the individual cases represented the grossest examples of over-fishing to have even been detected.

Urging the Minister "to come clean on the issue", he said it was making a mockery of the European common fisheries policy.

Dr Woods said he had been pressing hard to get better co-operation from other member-states on fisheries enforcement and to ensure a level playing field for all EU fishermen.

He had raised the particular enforcement difficulties associated with flagships with his British and Spanish colleagues at every opportunity and would continue to pursue the matter actively with the EU Commission and with other states.