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

I have multiple roles. The record of this Government with respect to safety, particularly the money and resources put into it and the changes made, has been fairly strong. I am glad to say we have had some positive results. Although there have been some tragedies in the past two years, there has been a big improvement on previous years. I take safety very seriously. I have personal and professional experience of the consequences of not giving safety at sea full attention. I will happily debate with anybody who wishes to question my bona fides around safety. This issue should not be sold as simply a safety matter, as it is more than that. If people are to build a bigger boat with the capacity to catch much more fish but people are not allowed to catch more fish, concerns will be raised about the temptation to catch more fish without having the quota to do so. Essentially, capacity would be taken from the whitefish sector and given to the pelagics without the corresponding change in quota. Maybe that is the right way to go but I would certainly like to have the views of others in the industry outside of those 18 boats before going ahead to make a proposal. That is not an unreasonable approach.

If this is a slam dunk and the obvious action to take, why are no producer organisations asking for it? Some of the members know them very well because of where they come from. No major producer organisation is asking for this at the moment because they cannot get agreement on it. The Killybegs Fisheries Organisation would certainly get no agreement and the Irish South and West Producers Organisation does not have agreement on it. My understanding is the organisation in the south and east does not have agreement either. Let us not paint this as something obvious to be done. Instead, we can consider it, and I am happy to do so.

If, after there has been a discussion with all stakeholders in the industry, a majority of people say this is the right thing to do, then we will do it. I do not accept the suggestion we are hearing here today that we should get on with this because it is an obvious thing to do for safety reasons. I do not think it is as simple as that. Most people who understand the fishing industry will accept that too. I have read the letter. I have it in front of me here. The key paragraph proposes that permission be granted to use whitefish tonnage, of which there is currently surplus available, on polyvalent pelagic vessels. Pelagic fishermen would then be enabled to purchase whitefish tonnage and kilowatts in order to effect the necessary modernisation of their pelagic catch. All I am saying is that while this makes sense on the face of it for some boats, I cannot in all conscience ignore the knock-on consequences it would have for the industry in terms of the sustainability of catch, the availability of quota and all the rest of it.

As I have said, if even one producer organisation came out in support of this proposal along with the group that is here, we could start to build a consensus about what we should be doing. It is wrong to paint this as the mainstream view of fishermen on the basis that some people are asking for it. Some people want it for very good commercial and other reasons. They might want to upgrade their boats or increase their capacity, safety and comfort, etc. They are perfectly entitled to aspire to all of those things. I need to make sure we make a decision that in the round is right for fish stocks and for the fishing industry as a whole. That is all I am saying. I am not ruling it out but I am not saying that, as Minister, I should pursue the proposal we have here as policy at this stage.