Doherty has long campaigned for a change to the system
Speaking following the announcement in the Dáil, Deputy Doherty said: “The last government created a lot of anger amongst the fishing community in respect of the controversial penalty points issue which implemented a statutory position for the imposition of penalty points on fishermen without recourse to the justice system, despite a ruling of the High Court.
“It is a positive and very welcome development that the new Minister has now removed the statutory instrument of March 2016 signed by his predecessor Minister Coveney, which Sinn Féin believes discriminated against fishermen and the industry as a whole.
“I welcome the fact that Minister Creed has stated that he will be giving effect to the decision either through the implementation of a new statutory mechanism or by introducing primary legislation.
“Depending on the content of the new mechanism or legislation, this decision represents a significant victory for fishing communities throughout the state, including here in our county of Donegal which has a proud and long fishing tradition.”