Fate of Irish Box unclear as EU talks end

The future of the Irish Box remains unclear today after a meeting of EU fisheries ministers ended without agreement.

A spokesman for the Minister for the Marine, Mr Dermot Ahern, said positions among other member states, in particular Spain, remained unchanged.

He told ireland.coma compromise deal proposing the creation of a smaller box off the West coast was discussed at today's meeting.

The proposal offered some "promise" as it represented a move in the Commission's position and recognised the need for a restriction in fishing in Irish waters, he said.

The new proposal tabled by the Commission would geographically reducing the zone from its current location 50 miles off the west coast, and would resemble the current "hake" box in size.

However, Mr Ahern has pledged to maintain the Government's position on retaining the Irish Box in spite of a compromise offered by the European Commission.

Mr Ahern will attend meetings this afternoon but the issue of the Irish Box is now unlikely to be dealt with again until July under the Italian presidency.

The Commission had originally directed Ireland and Spain to sort out Mardid's demand for increased access to the biologically sensitive zone at bilateral level, but the Government insisted it was an EU council matter.