Martin Ferris (Kerry North, Sinn Fein)

I thank Deputy McManus and the Labour Party for allocating me this time. I wish to discuss the decision taken by the Cabinet just over a year ago to proceed with the compulsory buying out of drift net salmon fishermen. Not only did this go against many Government TDs and Senators but it also went against the recommendations of the Committee on Communications, Marine and Natural Resources which proposed that any buy-out scheme should be voluntary and not compulsory.

As a member of that committee I pointed out that not only was the Government bringing an end to the livelihood of many people engaged in a traditional activity, but it was inadequately compensating them for it. The conditions attached to the destruction of nets were extremely harsh and in some cases would prevent fishermen using their nets to pursue other forms of fishing. This decision has put further pressure on other sectors in inland fishing, particularly lobsters, crayfish and shrimp.

Drift net fishermen have until the end of this month to decide whether to accept the compensation scheme and not only does this cause a major dilemma but it also causes the potential for division between those adamant that they will continue and those who feel they have no choice but to accept.

With average compensation amounts likely to be between €2,500 and €3,000, it is understandable that many see it as a derisory sum to buy out a tradition which goes back generations within communities and families. Another dilemma is caused by the fact that the Department told people they may be issued with new licenses if stocks rise but not if they accept the buy-out scheme. This is a major contradiction.

All in all, this has been badly handled and I appeal to the person with responsibility for this area to revisit the entire scheme at the last hour to facilitate those who wish to remain as active fishermen and to provide a much enhanced compensation scheme for those who wish to avail of it.

Many other areas of fishing policy also need to be addressed but these matters rarely come up for debate here. That is particularly true of sea fisheries and the need for a radical revision of the Common Fisheries Policy as it affects the allocation of quota in Irish waters. The last year for which we have complete statistics is 2004, when 700,000 tonnes of fish valued at €500 million was taken from Irish waters. In that year, the Irish fleet had a total demersal and pelagic quota of approximately 200,000 tonnes and the value of that catch was €123,000. That is an indication of the disproportionate amount of fish being taken from our waters by non-Irish fleets. Amounting as it does to 75% of the value of the catch, it represents a massive loss of one of our greatest natural resources and, to make matters worse, it is Irish fishermen and coastal communities that are bearing the brunt of the ever more stringent measures being imposed by the EU to protect stocks that have mainly been depleted by the fleets of other EU countries. That Irish fishermen are paying the price is illustrated by the fact that the Irish share of the quota allocated has again fallen in the past two years. The Irish share of the demersal quota has fallen from 55,000 to 32,000 in the past ten years. Between 2000 and 2005, landings at Irish ports fell by more than 25,000 tonnes, representing a loss of some €250,000.

That has obviously had a major impact on employment within the sector, with overall employment falling from almost 15,000 in 2000 to 11,600 in 2005. It has been reflected across all areas of the industry from fishing through aquaculture to processing. With regard to the latter, not only are most of our fish taken directly from our waters but most of our exports still consist of lower value bulk and fresh products. In 2005 less than 15% of the volume of exports consisted of processed seafood but that was valued at one third of the value of all seafood exports. That indicates the potential that exists in that area.

The entire sector is in need of a complete overhaul and the Common Fisheries Policy must be revisited. Regarding the decision to postpone the elections, I agree that further consultation is needed. I also acknowledge there will be significant challenges in terms of bringing it about and appreciate that the Minister intends to conduct the consultation in an open and transparent manner.

I commend fisheries boards management staff on the work they have done on conservation despite the uncertainty that exists regarding their position, particularly over the past year. I have worked closely with the regional fisheries boards over many years. As an active fisherman, I have particular experience of the south-western regional fisheries board and have always found its officials to be fair and honourable. They have done a good job. However, I am concerned that the centralisation of boards might remove the democratic input from coastal communities if the regional aspect is lost. With regionalisation, all sectors were represented on the board and its loss does not augur well for the future. I will, therefore, oppose that very strongly.

I welcome parts of the Minister's contribution but stress the need for him to revisit the decision to terminate the livelihood of driftnet fishermen and to ensure adequate compensation is forthcoming.

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