Noel Harrington (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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As I am not a member of this committee, I would like to thank the Chairman for giving me an opportunity to listen to the presentation. I thank Mr. Moran and the other officials for their attendance. Obviously, there is great interest in the Dáil when the Common Agricultural Policy is discussed. It gets quite a broad audience. Regrettably, the Common Fisheries Policy and this island's important sea-fisheries industry are of narrower interest. It is a shame. The review of the Common Fisheries Policy is of critical importance for the fishing industry, just as the Common Agricultural Policy is for the agriculture industry. Perhaps it is even more important.

I would like to ask about the approach being taken by Ireland during the Common Fisheries Policy negotiations. Can the officials indicate whether any political alliances are being agreed or harnessed with regard to issues like discards and transferable fishing concessions? Mr. Moran mentioned that agreement has been reached on decommissioning. Can he give us some idea of how much money will be available as part of the financial plan for the decommissioning of the Irish fleet?

I assume the Hague preferences will be part of the negotiations on total allowable catches towards the end of this year, perhaps in the next couple of weeks. Can the officials give us an indication in that regard? We have seen some of the Commission's proposals on total allowable catches. They are quite frightening for the industry, but that is usual before agreements are reached. The industry is looking for some reassurance that we will give the maintenance of the total allowable catches our best shot.

The Minister has not mentioned something that needs to be said but has not been touched on yet. It needs to be supported. As Deputy Ó Cuív said, the Minister's hands are tied in terms of relative stability with the total allowable catches. The Minister has said that when scientific information shows that there has been an increase in stocks, we can move to a position where the Irish share can increase proportionately. It would be remiss of me not to mention the difficulty we have. The opinion of the industry is that in the cases of certain stocks, such as hake and cod, the scientific advice from ICES, the Marine Institute or another part of the troika - if we can call it that - is falling far behind what is happening at sea. In other words, the information on what is out there is subject to a huge time lag before decisions are made at Commission and Council levels. That is becoming a huge problem. It relates to issues like discards and maximum sustainable yields. The Marine Institute does a fantastic job in assembling the information, but I think we could do a better job in getting it from the institute to the Council. It is taking far too long.

I have spoken to people in the industry who are working on technical measures to alleviate some of the discards. I have been told that some of the measures are proving reasonably successful. That is encouraging, but I do not think it will solve the entire problem of discards. It is a delicate problem. Morally, it is wrong to throw good fish overboard. It is criminal, in my opinion, but the quota system does not allow for anything else. The Minister has agreed that discards in pelagics will be signed off in 2014 and in mixed fisheries and demersals in the next few years after that. It is the right thing to do. The difficulty is in getting the industry to come on board in the first instance and then to agree the technical measures that are required to see it through. I would like to know whether the officials have any comments or further technical information on that.

I will conclude by talking about safety equipment. It is disappointing that financial assistance is not more forthcoming. We have heard anecdotal evidence at this committee about incidents in which lives have been lost at sea. It is clear from the comparison that has been done between Iceland and Ireland - I do not know if it is like comparing apples with oranges - that for various reasons, we have a problem with lives lost at sea. A strong case should be made for further supports to enhance the safety equipment of vessels. God knows that the owners of vessels are coming under enough pressure from the Marine Survey Office, the Health and Safety Authority and the insurance industry to bring their vessels up to spec, and rightly so. It is disappointing that they are not getting the financial recognition that is required. Will a further attempt be made to see whether we can get more assistance in this regard under the Common Fisheries Policy or any other instrument?