Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 28 March 2013

Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Joint Sub-Committee on Fisheries

Aquaculture and Tourism: Discussion (Resumed)

11:30 am

Photo of Andrew DoyleAndrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Gallagher for that information. This is the second session we have had on this issue and we have three more to go. The next one will include Alyne Delaney and a representative of Teagasc. After that we will meet Údarás na Gaeltachta, BIM, the Marine Institute and the Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority. We will finish with representatives of Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland.

If one looks at the principles of CAP, there is a Pillar 1 and a Pillar 2, which is about rural support mechanisms. The CAP funding seeks to support rural communities. As with the Common Fisheries Policy, it is not always monetary, except for initiatives like that which Mr. Gallagher highlighted where money can be drawn down. The Common Fisheries Policy and European islands policies need to reflect the need to support dispersed rural communities, whether on an island or on remote coastal shore. We are trying to devise a report which can recommend a model for social and economic support for that. That is the objective of the exercise.

In response to the question on lobbying, we can certainly get time allocated to have the report debated in both Houses. This is an all-party committee and we try to raise issues in a non-confrontational manner. The delegates will probably be aware from this meeting that we do not engage in political battles. I do not pretend to be an expert on fisheries, although I live in a coastal county, Wicklow, but I am learning. The longer we engage in this process the more I learn.

I appreciate that people have travelled a distance to appear before the joint sub-committee. It is important that everybody has had an opportunity to have their say. Today's groups are at the coalface of the industry and it is important that we hear what they have to say. We changed the order of the proceedings so that we would hear the contributions from the fishermen's organisations after hearing the representatives from the Departments. We think it is more important to hear the views of the fishermen before the statutory bodies, such as BIM, the Marine Institute and others appear before us.

I thank all the delegates for attending today and I wish everybody a happy Easter and a safe trip home. The joint sub-committee now stands adjourned until 9.30 a.m. on Thursday, 25 April 2013.

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