Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)

The problem in this instance is that one is dealing with a community infrastructure, through the Leader organisations, for example. The nature of drift net fishing, however, is that it involved individuals who are located right along the coast. It is not similar to other fishing sectors where there are large centres, such as Killybegs, Castletownbere and Dingle. Drift net fishermen were based around the coastline in an isolated way, in small ports and using small boats. My concern is that individuals who are willing to leave the fishing industry and move into other industries should also be able to access this fund to obtain the support they require. That does not seem to be possible under the current proposals.

See this speech in context