More than 60 prosecutions initiated by Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) have been withdrawn over the last two years or so after legal advice suggested its officers did not have the correct delegated sanction to take such cases, the Dáil Public Accounts Committee has been told.
Briefing material provided by IFI to the committee in advance of a scheduled hearing on Thursday noted “61 prosecutions have been effected with costs to date amounting to €240,408”.
The agency said that three cases “await finalisation”.
IFI is the State body tasked with the protection, conservation, development and promotion of inland fisheries. The area of responsibility covers inland surface waters as well as those extending to the 12 nautical-mile limit.
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IFI is also the inland fisheries enforcement agency in the State. In the briefing document to the committee, IFI said that in 2023, following legal advice, it had identified that officers did not have the delegated authority to initiate prosecutions correctly.
“To rectify this issue ... on June 12th 2023, delegations were put in place expressly granting the necessary authority to the executive in IFI to bring and institute criminal proceedings.
“IFI also sought legal advice on the validity of summonses issued in IFI prosecutions currently before the courts that predated these delegations. That advice concluded that IFI should not proceed with summonses currently before the courts, which were authorised before the delegations. IFI can confirm that 61 prosecutions have been affected with costs to date amounting to €240,408,” the committee heard.
The briefing document provided an update to the committee on several incidents highlighted in a special report on the agency drawn up by the Comptroller and Auditor General earlier this year.
The comptroller’s report – published in October – indicated that most of the prosecutions withdrawn “related to single cases of illegal fishing or illegal items seized, which are typically lower value fines. In these cases, IFI typically incur legal fees of around €4,000 and the courts award fines in the region of €400.
“However, there is one large case outstanding. In this case, the court found the defendant to be responsible for a large fish kill. The matter is before the courts with the issue of costs yet to be finalised.”
The comptroller’s report overall highlighted significant lapses in the system of controls operated for years at Inland Fisheries Ireland.
One issue highlighted by the Comptroller related to a road traffic crash in 2021, after which Inland Fisheries Ireland found that 15 of its hired vehicles, including the car involved in the collision, had been uninsured for a period.
In its update to the committee, the agency said “total costs incurred by IFI in relation to this incident, excluding vehicle repair costs, are €204,945”.
It said those repair costs were €24,428.
The comptroller’s report said that in 2020 Inland Fisheries Ireland had made 53 credit cards available to staff who used them to spend more than €148,000.
The number of staff credit cards was reduced to 17. However, the report stated that this remained excessive for an organisation of its size.
IFI said in its briefing to the committee that it had reduced the number of credit cards to five, effective as of December 2nd.
