Martin Ferris (Kerry North, Sinn Fein)

The Minister will be aware of the presentations made by driftnet fishermen to the Joint Committee on Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, in which they categorically stated they were in favour of sustainability and conservation. Many other groups argued in their presentations to the committee for a voluntary buy-out scheme, with provision for set-aside as an alternative for those who wished to continue in the industry.

Is the Minister aware that the blanket ban on drift netting will affect so many coastal villages, along the west and south coasts in particular, that there will be implications for other sectors of inshore fishing? I refer in particular to lobster and crab fishermen and the added pressures that will be put on that sector when the people who have effectively been made redundant by the Minister's order are forced to partake in it.

Does the Minister accept the proposed compensation package has been described as totally inadequate by the former Minister of State at the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, Deputy Gallagher, who speaks with the experience of someone from a coastal community? Does the Minister recognise that the €5 million compensation package for affected rural communities is totally inadequate, considering the size of the sector involved and the isolated nature of coastal areas? Does he accept that the five year reference period he is using effectively represents a considerable restriction for the salmon fishing industry? The term of three to four months fishing was cut to 35 or 36 days.

Given that the package is being portrayed as some type of redundancy package and that there is a five year reference period, does the Minister not accept this is a slap in the face for those who have spent their lives in the industry to sustain their communities and local economies? The proposal is an insult to them. Will the severance package be taxed?

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