We need to right the wrongs and act on Article 10 to save our fishing waters

Eddie Hobbs (Irish Examiner, November 19) says he wants Article 10 of the Constitution changed. We could never understand the State, through the EU, giving “equal access to a common resource” and so we sought legal advice.

An extract states: “Ireland’s access to the EEC in 1972 necessitated an amendment to our constitution.

This amendment (the third amendment) is now embodied in Article 29.4 which provides:

‘No provision of this Constitution invalidated laws enacted, acts done or measures adopted by the State which are necessitated by the obligations of membership of the European Union or of the Communities, or prevents laws enacted, acts done or measures adopted by the European Union or by the Communities or by institutions thereof, or by bodies competent under the Treaties establishing the Communities from having the force of law in the State’.

This amendment authorises the enactment of the European Communities Act 1972.

The result is that 88% of all fish taken in Irish waters is fished by foreign vessels.

The Department of the Marine states that conservatively the worth of this exceeds €1.16 billion per annum.

The final words of our legal advice are “the amendment now reflected in Article 29.4 is broad; in it, the people empowered the State to do anything which is necessitated by the obligation of membership of the communities”.

Those who died in 1916 for our freedom must be rolling in their graves.

Donal O’Driscoll

East End,

Castletownbere;

Tom Hassett

c/o. “Roseville”,

Strawberry Hill,

Cork