Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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With respect, my question concerns the fact that we have some of the richest waters in the world surrounding us. The potential for the seafood industry is absolutely immense but we are not meeting our potential by comparison with other countries in the EU and Nordic states. From the information I have, I have learned BIM does not do benchmarking in its report. Therefore, if I knew very little about seafood and read the report, I would take the view that it presented a quite healthy scenario for Ireland but this is not what I hear when I talk to the processors and fishermen.

As committee members will know, last week Sinn Féin published the result of a survey. We had almost 300 participants in that survey and some of the headline figures just do not reflect what is in this report. Nine out of ten participants were clear there had been a significant decline in the industry over the past ten years. Not one single participant said that the industry had significantly grown in the last ten years. That is their sense on the ground. A very painful outcome was that nine out of ten said they would not encourage their children to continue with the tradition of fishing. Therefore, we have a sector that does not feel the numbers that are in this document. Regarding the processors, does Ms Bocquel accept there has been a decline in the processing industry in this State?