Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I share the Deputy's concerns. Many people do not understand how the fishing industry works. Those who work on a trawler receive a percentage of the catch rather than being paid a salary as such. Essentially, they are sole traders working on somebody else's boat, with the result that they do not have easy access to social welfare without a time-consuming assessment procedure. We need to consider issues of income protection for people who are committed to the fishing industry. The sector also employs a considerable number of non-Irish nationals who work as deckhands on fishing boats. Issues arise in this regard which we also need to consider. I started a conversation with the Minister for Social Protection this morning about income issues in the fishing industry, and we will continue that conversation. In the meantime, however, I want to give a strong signal that we are going to hold a special quota management meeting this Friday to significantly increase the amount of quota that boats in the whitefish sector will be able to catch for the next six weeks so that they can catch up, from an income and cashflow point of view, as long as the weather permits. If the weather window does not persist we will have to consider other ways of supporting the families concerned.

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