Ms Caitlín Uí hAodha:

I am from the Irish South and East Fish Producers Organisation. I wish to advise that we will probably repeat some of what the other witnesses have said because, all around the island, we experience the same difficulties.

The south and east is a unique part of the country because of the diverse fisheries. I represent a number of boats in that area. Following a political decision, we lost our EU status in 2011 but we are hoping to have it reinstated. We need it because it is a unique area. We represent all the marine trawlers in the island, all the scallop fisheries and almost all of the boats that target ray that are sold on the east coast and mostly into Dublin.

We have many success stories in the south east. Perhaps I will read what I have prepared. I am here to pose a few questions because the industry is worth €500 million to the ailing economy. The whitefish sector alone is worth €183 million. Some 11,000 people are employed in the industry and it is the hope that it will employ up to 15,000. Are we in the right place to see that growth continue? Do we need to look at the EU regulations? Do we need a plan in Ireland? I do not think we have ever had a serious fisheries plan on where the industry is going?

Once we had a fishing licence. Now we have licences that are constantly diluted which devalues the licences. We lost our mackerel entitlement to a handful of people. We lost our herring entitlement to 18 boats in a particular county. Is that good for coastal development? One member lost the right to fish because he did not have the base year. I would argue that he should not have a base year because he fished in that area as his father and grandfather did. That more and more of our fisheries are being ring-fenced into the future is not good. The policy of ring-fencing is very poor.

I represent a large amount of the inshore fleet. Some 80% of the vessels in the Irish fishing fleet are less than 15 m. Harbours such as Waterford or Youghal where there should be a local fishery for clams and razors cannot get designated. It takes two years and nine months longer than for any other member state to have licences issued and the areas classified, which is much too slow.

The closure of the salmon fishery was to be reviewed after three years and we are still awaiting this review. Small areas around the coast such as Dunmore East, Passage East and Helvic should have a small controlled salmon fishery. Unlike Donegal, no large factories from America or elsewhere will come to this area. We have to create our own employment in those areas and it can be done if we get the support. The salmon fishery needs to be looked at, as well as the eel fishery. A small controlled fishery would allow people to maintain their livelihoods and engage in processing or smoking salmon or whatever.

We have another success story in Dunmore East. The closure of the Dunmore East box to boats in excess of 18 m has proved to be hugely beneficial and that initiative should be extended around the coast to different species and bays. For example, trawling in bays for sprats should be protected for small boats which do not have the capacity to go further out to sea. That is not happening. Larger boats have the privilege of going after many species into deeper water and can also come inshore. That is an issue that needs to be examined and preserved for smaller fisheries.

The sentinel herring fishery in Dunmore East has 54 small boats. When that fishery opens in wintertime our office is alive and so is Dunmore East. It brings money into the industry, creates employment, keeps young guys away from the aeroplane and brings them into the industry.

It not alone creates money but it also keeps those local communities vibrant and keeps the blood flowing through them. That is what we are here to talk about and it is most important.

I will not finish without bringing up the bass issue. We are one of the only countries that is forbidden to land deep sea water bass. I emphasise the term "deep sea water bass" because we are discussing bass that is off our coast along the south east where our boats fish with those of other EU countries. While they go at certain times of the year our fleet sits there. We watch them go to places such as the Tuskar Rock to target this species, which they land but we cannot land it. Now we will be faced perhaps with a quota system but we have no track record. We will also be faced with a discard ban whereby we can no longer land these fish. This issue reflects Ireland's policies towards things. We dig our head in the sand and we cannot deal with an issue because some people do not like it. However, we must start dealing with it. We have called on Departments and Ministers several times to open and deal with this discussion and it must happen soon.

Reference was made to relative stability. Mr. Sheehan noted that we cannot make changes to the amount of quota we got. One person I will always admire is Garret FitzGerald because he saw that there was a bad deal and he did not leave the table until he got a change. That was brought about through the Hague Preferences. We need someone of his capacity, ability and interest to kick the table again for Ireland and bring us a change to this ridiculous relative stability. There is also relative stability in our country. Although we are not happy with the French getting seven times more fish than us, within our own industry we see different political powers giving certain people seven times more entitlement to species and that is not a good way to develop coastal communities.

Let us consider the herring situation in Dunmore East and the central fishery. One could give three boats the quota and it would be gone overnight or one could give it to 50 small families in a way that supports our local communities. We are here today to support those small local communities all around our coast. This issue needs to be examined. We need a policy for the future of the industry. I call on the Minister, who has taken a real, keen interest in fisheries, to look towards his Department and determine whether the policies we have will sustain our island fisheries industry in future.