Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Since we are discussing the expansion of the sector, much of the salmon that is farmed across the country is processed in north Donegal at the Marine Harvest plant in Fanad. However, it operates at less than 50% of its processing capacity because it does not have enough raw material to keep the plant going. It is tremendous for employment and is perhaps the only significant employer in the Fanad area. Like other public representatives, I attended the company's 40th anniversary dinner last Saturday night. The frustration among many of the workers is palpable in regard to the failure of the sector to develop and expand in regard to new licences and new capacity. I was talking to some long-standing employees who have been there over 30 years and they recalled that, back in the late 1980s and early 1990s, when they started working, some 6,000 tonnes of produce from the north Donegal area was being exported per year, whereas the figure nationally this year is around 6,000 tonnes. While my figures may be a little off, there was an equivalence between the current national figure and what came from north Donegal alone in that period. I make the point there are complex issues involved.

In terms of the capacity of the sector to expand and the benefit it has for employment in north Donegal, there needs to be an additional effort to develop that sector and move it on. As Dr. Beamish indicated, while there may be some biological issues, it has not been increasing in the last number of years while the sector feels there is a lot more capacity, given the correct support and resource backup to develop it.