Thomas Pringle (Donegal South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister and his officials for engaging with us on this issue. The current fleet sub-segmentation policy is a ministerial policy and, as such, I assume the Minister can decide to review it on the basis of evidence he has heard and based on the comprehensive business case that was submitted by the vessel owners who are seeking a policy shift. He can initiate a policy review if he so decides; it does not require a senior official to ask him to do so. Will the Minister clarify whether he will give active consideration to such a review?

I understand the sub-segmentation issue is unique to Ireland among EU fleets. Moreover, the problem in this regard is specific to one particular sub-segment, namely, the polyvalent pelagic sector. My understanding is there is plenty of available tonnage in the refrigerated seawater, RSW, pelagic sector and surplus tonnage in the whitefish sector. However, because of the way the policy works, operators in the polyvalent pelagic sector are not able to access that tonnage, which is all being used up by existing operators.

A number of fishermen find themselves in situations which are rightly classed as emergency cases, some of which were outlined by Deputy Ó Cuív. Another such case of which I am aware involves a vessel owner who is required by the Marine Survey Office, in accordance with a seaworthiness survey, to have a bulbous bow fitted on his craft. In order to do so, however, he must purchase additional tonnage, which he cannot do because the only tonnage available is whitefish tonnage. There is a risk, therefore, that he may not be able to get a licence to go back to sea. Reference was made to another vessel owner who was granted the required tonnage and offered a licence but would, as a consequence, have to be taken out of the sector in which he is fishing. The case to which I referred is a very pressing one and there are people in a similar situation across the fishing industry. Even if the Minister does decide to initiate a review, those cases should be dealt with in the meantime, on a one-off basis, to allow people to continue to sustain themselves within the industry.

I do not see why the sub-segmentation system should be so rigid. The policy was introduced in 2003, but sub-segmentation has been going on, as the Minister indicated, since the early 1990s. Surely no policy should be cast in stone but instead should be subject to periodic review to ensure it continues to meet the requirements that were placed on it at the time it was introduced? I urge the Minister to address this particular issue. As other speakers pointed out, there is precedent here by way of the vessel owner who purchased whitefish tonnage in 2011 and was licensed subsequently to continue in the polyvalent pelagic sector. Dealing with cases like that, at the same time a review is ongoing and a new policy is being drafted, would go a long way to satisfying the concerns of those operators who find themselves in a very difficult situation because of the current provisions.