Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 17 June 2025

Committee on Fisheries and Maritime Affairs

The Business of Seafood Report 2024: Bord Iascaigh Mhara

2:00 am

Photo of Conor McGuinnessConor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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I have a number of questions. Before we go into another round of questions, I propose to ask them now.

I thank Ms Bocquel for coming to the committee. It is timely with the publication of the report. That said, we were planning as a committee to speak to Bord Iascaigh Mhara early on in any case. The report is comprehensive, clear and easy to navigate. Similar to what other members said, I wonder how reflective it is of sentiment in the industry, particularly in sea fisheries around the coast. It speaks about confidence in the sector. The figures presented, which I do not doubt, show some growth, but I think all of our conversations and the survey Deputy Mac Lochlainn spoke about illustrate a despair and despondency in the seafood sector, particularly within the fishing industry. I am trying to tally the report speaking of a confidence in the sector with the reality we face every day as public representatives speaking to people active in the sector. I note the discussion around succession planning and sustainability of the industry, yet nine out of ten people active in sea fisheries say they do not want their children to enter the industry after them because they do not see a future. What is the chief executive's opinion on the fact that there appears, according to the statistics presented, to be a confidence in the industry yet we hear a different story of despondency and despair?