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

The Deputy's questions are current and relevant. A great deal is happening in both areas. The Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Varadkar and I will be launching a safety initiative for the fishing industry in Union Hall next Monday, which the Deputy and all other Members are welcome to attend if they wish. It will involve grant aid, an obligation to training, and the establishment of an industry-led group of people who will report to me by the end of the year in terms of making recommendations around safety and careers in fishing, in particular for deckhands. There are a series of complex issues involved that require to be looked at, with which Deputies Pringle and Ferris will be familiar. We are responding to the issues raised. BIM is being given an allocation to support this initiative. I suspect there will be more to come on the back of the recommendations from the group. I think Union Hall is the appropriate place to launch this initiative given what happened there last year.

Following the funerals after the most recent tragedy in Waterford, I spoke to the family. My heart goes out to them. It is almost unthinkable that so many people from one family would lose their lives in the same tragedy. I have also received a fairly detailed description of the likely situation in terms of what happened to them. They were all wearing life jackets and there was an EPIRB on the boat. However, for some reason it did not trigger an emergency signal when it should have. I am told that this happened because the bow of the boat, where the EPIRB was located, did not sink. EPIRBs need to be submerged in water before they trigger. We do not know all the facts and should not overly speculate. Following receipt of a full report from the Marine Casualty Investigation Board, we may learn lessons from that tragedy. In the meantime, we must do all we can to support the community involved.

We have learned from other tragedies that if emergency services are quickly alerted to a person being in the water, the chances of the person being saved are dramatically increased. For this reason, we must ensure that when a fisherman or anyone else falls into the water, an emergency response is triggered immediately. I hope the equipment we propose to support and grant aid next Monday will address some of those concerns. A person who falls into the sea, even when wearing a life jacket, can only survive a couple of hours before dying of hypothermia. It is important the person can remain afloat and that the emergency services reach him or her quickly. The two pieces of equipment about which we are speaking are linked to saving lives. I propose, with the Minister, Deputy Varadkar, to act on this next Monday in Union Hall. I thank the Deputy for asking that question.

On the Deputy's second question on the new Common Fisheries Policy, we should know in the next ten days what Ireland's allocation will be from the EMFF, the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund. On the last occasion this was distributed, Ireland did particularly badly in that it received only €72 million, which is approximately 1% of the fund or approximately €10 million per annum. I am making the strong case to the Commissioner that Ireland should receive a significantly increased allocation this time. While every country is seeking an increase, Ireland manages a complex mixed fishery and needs resources to do so. I will make the figures available when I receive them. While Ireland will receive some money, I am hopeful the amount will be considerable enough to assist fishermen to adapt to the new realities of fishing policy, which is an obligation to land all fish, with some exception, and the gear they require to become more targeted in terms of how they fish, including mesh size, escape hatches, net shape and new storage facilities and so on. I cannot give a figure in this regard now. We have factored some of this into the programme. Members will note that BIM's budget has been increased, as has the budget for Bord Bia. This is because I see both organisations as strategic in terms of finding new markets and developing new value added products in the food and seafood sectors. It is also because BIM has to do the work I have just outlined.