Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 27 November 2018

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Sea Fisheries Sustainability Impact Assessment: Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

3:30 pm

Photo of Charlie McConalogueCharlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I apologise for not being present earlier but I had to attend another meeting. I have read the Minister's opening statement and I thank him for coming in to discuss this important issue with the committee. The outline that he gave is concerning in respect of the overall impact, particularly if the proposal remains unchanged. It will result in a 15% reduction in volume and a 17% reduction in value in the sector. That is the starting position and the Minister will have to fight a battle on behalf of the country and in conjunction with other member states in the coming weeks. The proposed reductions this time last year and the position at the conclusion of the negotiations are an indication of what is possible in negotiations. In that context, I ask the Minister to remind us of the position last year in terms of the final outcomevis-à-vis the original proposal.

What has been the cumulative impact of reductions or changes in recent years? Have there been reductions every year for the past five or six years or have there been increases as well? I ask this to assess the impact on the fishing sector in general.

The Minister indicated that it has not been agreed that the Hague preferences will be applied. Have they not been applied in any years following negotiations? How confident is the Minister that they will be applied in 2019? I would have thought that given the pressure we are under because of Brexit there would be more solidarity from other member states this year. That is counterposed by the fact that the British Government benefits from the preferences as well, which is a complicating factor. I accept that fact but ask the Minister to elaborate a little on that matter.

On the TACs, the Minister indicated that he is seriously concerned about the fact that the Commission, in its proposal, has not allocated quota to member states in accordance with their respective shares for a number of key stocks. Instead, it has proposed that a by-catch TAC would be available to any member state. This is a concerning proposal that has never been suggested in the past. I hope that it will not be implemented and I ask the Minister to elaborate on it.

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