Brian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail)
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I will be as brief as I can as the Minister is probably under pressure timewise. I commend him on his initiative on the inshore fishing strategy which he has adopted in response to some of the recommendations that were highlighted in the document prepared by the subcommittee, and that must be welcomed. Some of the issues related to it have been raised by members. The forum is an excellent idea and hopefully it will lead to a more joined-up, grassroots-upward viewpoint being filtered into the Department, which is something that needs to happen, and the Minister acknowledged that in his address.

I have a few questions on the lobster and crab issue. I welcome that the grant aid has been extended. That issue was raised by the committee. New applications are to be advertised. Have they been advertised yet? Has the grant scheme being advertised yet? The grant scheme is currently capped at 40% of expenditure and that is proving to be problematic for many of the small potting fishermen. Can the Department consider increasing that grant aid? There may be EU state aid guidelines that preclude that, but is it something that can be considered or, as an alternative, can some arrangement be put in place with credit unions or processors to help fishermen who are under pressure and finding it difficult to cope?

I agree with the Minister that the lobster species are under threat. They are in danger of being overfished and that is because many of the traditional fishing opportunities available to fishermen locally, whether it be salmon fishing or other fishing opportunities - I am not laying the blame at the Minister's door for that as that was done by the previous Government - have been removed. One of the issues we raised during our deliberations and which is contained within the report is the need to consider a heritage licence which would be very restricted and would be available for fishermen who may wish to fish traditional fishing opportunities that are available. Obviously, salmon fishing is one but other fishing opportunities are also available. That is something that should be explored. What is the Minister's view on that? I accept that it crosses over into another Department.

The salmon fishing opportunities available currently are only available to the angling fraternity and some rivers are closed in that respect, but the biggest danger, as any angler would advise, to salmon migrating up river are the seals in each of the estuaries. I was at an estuary in north Donegal last weekend where 12 seals were spotted and the local anglers would tell one that the salmon do not have a chance of getting up river. The seals are very acclimatised to being able to pick up the salmon.

I realise salmon are protected under the European habitats directive but I believe the matter needs to be examined. Why should a fishing opportunity be destroyed with seals in bays? The Minister and his colleague, the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Deputy Deenihan, need to examine the possibility of operating a seal cull. I am unsure whether that is something the Minister is interested in examining, but it has been done in other jurisdictions and it should be examined here in conjunction with the opportunities that a heritage licence would bring.

I understand the grant aid issue is being considered under the new Common Fisheries Policy. What is the Minister's view? Will grant aid for fishing vessels only be available for vessels that are over three years old? Will it be restricted to upgrading those vessels or will grant aid be made available for purchasing newer or more up-to-date vessels?