15A.—(1) In this Chapter—

"Appeals Officer" shall be construed in accordance with section 15M;

"certificate of master registration" shall be construed in accordance with section 15C(1);

"Commission Regulation" means Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No. 404/2011 of 8 April 2011⁴ laying down detailed rules for the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No. 1224/2009 of 20 November 2009⁵ establishing a Community control system for ensuring compliance with the rules of the Common Fisheries Policy, as amended by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/1962 of 28 October 2015⁶, Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/30 of 14 January 2020⁷ and Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/863 of 22 June 2020⁸;

"competent authority" means, in relation to another Member State, the competent authority designated by that Member State to perform the functions of the competent authority under the Control Regulation;

"Control Regulation" means Council Regulation (EC) No. 1224/2009 of 20 November 2009⁹ establishing a Union control system for ensuring compliance with the rules of the common fisheries policy, as amended by Regulation (EU) No. 1379/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2013¹⁰, Regulation (EU) No. 1380/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2013¹¹, Council Regulation (EU) No. 1385/2013 of 17 December 2013¹², Regulation (EU) No. 508/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014¹³, Regulation (EU) 2015/812 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2015¹⁴, Regulation (EU) 2019/473 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 March 2019¹⁵ and Regulation (EU) 2019/1241 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019¹⁶;

"Determination Panel" shall be construed in accordance with section 15G;

"engage", in relation to a master of a sea-fishing boat, means—

(a) retain, hire or otherwise employ the master concerned, or

(b) enter into any other contractual or legal arrangement with the master concerned pursuant to which the master acts as master of a sea-fishing boat;

"Irish citizen" means a person who—

(a) is an Irish citizen under the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Acts 1956 to 2004, or

(b) acquires Irish citizenship under those Acts or any other enactment;

"IUU Regulation" means Council Regulation (EC) No. 1005/2008 of 29 September 2008¹⁷ establishing a Community system to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, as amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1010/2009 of 22 October 2009¹⁸, Commission Regulation (EU) No. 86/2010 of 29 January 2010¹⁹ and Commission Regulation (EU) No. 202/2011 of 1 March 2011²⁰;

"official" has the same meaning as it has in Article 4(6) of the Control Regulation;

"points" means points assigned to a master of a sea-fishing boat for a serious infringement in accordance with Annex XXX to the Commission Regulation or section 15U, as the case may be;

"registered master" means an Irish citizen who is entered in the Irish Fishing Master Register in accordance with section 15B;

"Regulations of 2020" means the European Union (Common Fisheries Policy) (Point System) Regulations 2020 (S.I. No. 318 of 2020);

"report" means a report in writing and includes an inspection report, a surveillance report, a report of control data or material, collected by an official acting in the execution of his or her powers or duties;

"sea-fishing boat licence" means a licence granted under section 4 (inserted by section 97) of the Act of 2003;

"serious infringement" means an infringement of the rules of the common fisheries policy specified in Annex XXX to the Commission Regulation or Article 90(1)(c) of the Control Regulation.

(2) A word or expression that is used in this Chapter and is also used in the Commission Regulation, the Control Regulation or the IUU Regulation has, unless the context otherwise requires, the same meaning in this Chapter as it has in the Commission Regulation, the Control Regulation or the IUU Regulation, as the case may be.

(3) This Chapter is without prejudice to section 3 of the Merchant Shipping (Certification of Seamen) Act 1979 and any regulations made thereunder.]