Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Minister reported to us in his opening statement that 1,642 vessels under 12 m were on the national register as of the end of December 2023. He also reported that approximately 1,000 of those vessels are actively fishing. That means 642 vessels are not actively engaged in fishing. That appears to leave out a lot of information as to why that is the case, and whether those vessels were actively fishing at a certain point in time. How many boats have left the industry or stopped actively fishing since Covid restrictions were lifted? Prior to Covid and the war in Ukraine, how many boats were actively fishing? How many are actively fishing now? There are linked questions. What was the annual turnover of the inshore sector pre-Covid? What was the turnover in the last reportable year of 2023? What volume of produce was landed by the inshore industry?

I want to get a sense of the number of boats, the turnover and the volume according to the Department. Will the Minister let me know what his assessment of that is?