Martin Ferris (Kerry North-West Limerick, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Are the submissions the delegates have received from the Department, the joint committee and other parties compatible with the new guidelines as recommended in this paper?

Will the delegates comment on the implications of these proposals for inshore fishermen? I am very concerned about the availability of funding for that sector.

Mr. Hayes referred to the pots replacement scheme. According to my information, that scheme turned out to be an absolute disaster because the criteria attaching to it were too strict. People were required, for example, to produce receipts for lost pots that may have been purchased several years previously, which was impossible for some to do. Applicants also had to produce evidence they were selling fish during the relevant period.

Mr. Hayes mentioned that in the case of damage caused by natural disasters, these provisions will apply only where the damage amounts to more than 30% of the average annual turnover of the operator concerned in the preceding three years. Do the delegates consider this a high threshold in order to claim any type of compensation or support? I know small operators who lost everything as a result of storm damage earlier this year. I am afraid 30% of their turnover for the previous three years would go no way toward getting them up and running again.

Mr. Hayes indicated that the proposal is for €142 million of the seafood development programme funds to go towards sectoral development, with €46 million going to new investments to support the enforcement of the rules. How is it envisaged that this funding will be allocated? Will an existing body such as the Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority be given a remit in this regard?