Mr. Patrick Murphy:

If it is okay, I might share my time with the two chairmen I have with me. I thank the committee for inviting us here. We would like to have more regular meetings during the year rather than just one occasion when it comes to the December Council. I hope the committee would take note of that. We have a big job ahead and we need help. We would like to see more of this engagement between the committee and the Minister. As he said in his statement, he has met us a few times and it is never enough. We have spoken to the Minister a few times on the fuel issue. He is still considering it. For us, that is hard to take, given everything else that the industry is going through. There is money available and our industry is in dire need of assistance. We talk about level playing pitches and that we go to Europe and look for these. Here is one instance where countries in Europe get fuel subsidies which gives them a massive advantage in the marketplace because they have fewer expenses to catch the fish. The European Union has again rolled over, giving access to our waters between six and 12 nautical miles. This was despite our objections and the Minister putting a solid proposal forward that we would protect the area and the spawning grounds by moving this area out to 20 nautical miles. He was overruled when it came to the voting. That is something that needs to be addressed in the European Union. Maybe the Minister needs help with that from the committee and the Oireachtas. For us, the Taoiseach should be doing that.

One of the main points we raised here last year was the review of the Common Fisheries Policy. We put together a task force and we produced an excellent document. We were told by the Commissioner that there would be a review, then it was to be a report a now it is back to being a review. Without a review of the Common Fisheries Policy, we will have the same conversations with this committee year in and year out. It will be about the industry shrinking and there being no future in it for coming generations around the coast. To put it into in context, there were 330 boats in the various categories fishing offshore in 2006. We think that will be down to 120, maybe even lower if the targets are met. That is a shocking reality for our coastal communities. In places like where I grew up, fishing is becoming a memory. There are no boats. They are disappearing right in front of our eyes but we are doing everything that we can to try to stem this tide.

Burden-sharing is something we spoke about last year. We are fighting for this and we are trying to get our colleagues in Europe to back us on this. Hopefully we will get some support from them.

We have been asking for changes to the atypical working scheme to look after the hardworking people who are travelling here from the other side of the Continent. This will help to create employment and jobs ashore and will ensure that there are well-crewed boats with good skill levels. We are delighted that there has been movement on that. Hopefully this will happen before next year.

We have a small share in fisheries. The science tells us that the maximal sustainable yield for hake, for example, is 81,000 tonnes yet on a precautionary level, we are given around 44,000 tonnes. Our share in that is tiny. It was 2,383 tonnes last year. If we get a 3% increase on that, it is really an insult to the fishermen who have done so much work by bringing in gears to avoid fish by-catch. That is the design of fishing nets now as to avoid fish.

Fuel aid is definitely something that we hope the committee will raise with the Minister. People were expecting to get fuel aid, as has happened in other countries. They have dug deep financial holes for themselves and are in serious trouble. It will jeopardise their industries going forward.

We were called the custodians of the sea when we stood up to the Russians and protected our seas. We hope that will be acknowledged and that we too will be protected and helped to keep fishing. We have vulnerable marine ecosystems on the water. We have spoken to the Commission about the closing off of areas that were traditionally fishing grounds. We have raised objections that this is once again going to impact on fishermen in the Porcupine and other areas where they have plied their living. Again, we were deemed custodians of the sea for protecting the Porcupine from others coming in.