Tony Killeen (Clare, Fianna Fail)

I welcome this opportunity to review the issues relating to the fishing industry and, in particular, to consider the current difficulties it is facing arising from high fuel costs.

As Minister of State with responsibility for fisheries I would like to assure the House of my full commitment and, that of my colleague, the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Deputy Brendan Smith, to a long-term sustainable and profitable fishing industry which is absolutely critical to coastal communities around the country where alternative economic activities are limited.

Quality, safe seafood is of the highest importance to consumers and we have in Ireland access to a resource that will deliver high quality local products to the Irish market. The fishing industry is an indigenous industry creating jobs and wealth in parts of the country that do not have access to much of the other urban based employment and wealth creation opportunities. The Government is, and has been, fully committed to the development of the industry which is based on an indigenous and perpetually renewable resource and of ever increasing value.

It is fair to say that it has been recognised by both successive Governments and the fishing industry for some time that there was need to address some of the fundamental problems facing the fishing industry in Ireland. In recognition of this situation, the Minister appointed Dr. Noel Cawley to chair an independent review of the industry and to bring forward a plan for its restructuring and development. Following intensive discussions around the coast with fishermen and fishing communities, Dr. Cawley, with the support of Mr. Joey Murrin and Mr. Ruain Ó Brie, brought forward a strategy, Steering A New Course: A Strategy for a Restructured, Sustainable and Profitable Irish Seafood Industry 2007-2013.

The strategy sets out a vision for a sustainable, profitable and self-reliant industry to maximise its long-term contribution to coastal communities based on fish stocks restored to sustainable levels in the context of a healthy and diverse marine environment. It focuses on a number of key areas, including the restructuring of the fishing fleet to bring it into balance with available resources, a more innovative and co-ordinated approach to the marketing of seafood capitalising on its healthy and nutritious image and, maximising the value of seafood at every stage from the sea to the table. The Government has committed to this strategy in the programme for Government and has provided for its implementation in the National Development Plan 2007-2013.

The escalation of fuel costs as a result of global economic and political conditions remains a matter of serious concern for all sectors of industry. However, it is acknowledged that the fishing industry's reliance on fuel is such that it is impacted on far more than other sectors. I reassure the House that I am fully cognisant of, and sympathetic to, the plight of Irish fishermen in the current climate. It would be simplistic and irresponsible to suggest that there are any quick fixes to the current hiatus but I firmly believe that solutions are to a large extent set down in the Cawley strategy. We would be foolish if we abandon the course of actions which were carefully thought through to address many of the fundamental structural current problems facing the industry. We must stay on course and the Government and I remain fully committed to the delivery of the Cawley strategy.

The problems identified in the Cawley strategy have been further compounded by increases in the price of fuel. The immediate short-term measures proposed by the fishing industry, such as tie-up aid, can only be addressed in Europe. I firmly believe that the fuel crisis facing the Irish fishing industry is a European issue and can only be comprehensively dealt with in the European context.

The Minister and I met with the Federation of Irish Fishermen, FIF, shortly after our appointments to get a flavour of issues facing the fishing sector and heard directly from it the impact of high fuel costs on the Irish industry. As we realised the serious impacts we decided that we needed to immediately bring the matter to the attention of the EU Commission as this was clearly a European issue. Without delay, the Minister spoke at length by phone to Commissioner Borg on 6 June outlining his misgivings at the slow response from the Commission to the current situation and conveyed to him the industry's dismay at the position in which it finds itself.

Following much publicised unrest, the Minister and I again met with the FIF in Athlone on 13 June. Following a nine hour frank and productive meeting, we committed to meeting with Commissioner Borg in advance of the Fisheries Council to re-emphasise in the strongest possible terms the long-term and short-term issues facing the Irish fishing industry and to press for a fast and effective EU Commission response to the impact of high oil prices, and other issues, on Ireland's fishing fleet.

The Minister and I met yesterday in Strasbourg with Commissioner Borg to discuss the difficulties being experienced by fishermen across Europe and particularly in Ireland. At that meeting, we forcefully put to the Commissioner all the key points raised by the Federation of Irish Fishermen last Friday. In the course of the meeting, we impressed upon the Commissioner, as we had undertaken to do during a meeting with the Federation of Irish Fishermen on Friday last, the serious difficulties and the depth of feeling of Irish fishermen and also the urgent need to bring forward a new EU-funded package of measures to alleviate the concerns of Irish fishermen. We also discussed the proposals outlined by the Commissioner and published on Wednesday evening.

While I welcomed the proposals, we highlighted the absence of a provision for additional EU funding to underwrite the proposals. We indicated that the total European fisheries fund allocation to Ireland over the seven year period was only €42 million and that the Government was, under the Cawley strategy and with the support of the fishermen, about to commit at least the same amount of money in the national voluntary decommissioning scheme for older whitefish trawlers. In that context we re-emphasised the need for the Commission to come forward with additional EU funds to support some of the emergency short term measures called for by the Federation of Irish Fishermen and outlined in the Commissioner's proposals as published. Commissioner Borg indicated that he was exploring within DG Mare all possibilities for the identification of some additional funding for the package.

I am satisfied that Commissioner Borg is now fully acquainted with the issues of concern to Irish fishermen as outlined to the Minister and me last week by the Federation of Irish Fishermen at our meeting in Athlone. As many of the issues are also of concern to fishermen in other member states, I will be working closely with like-minded colleagues at next Tuesday's Fisheries Council to continue to press for the package of measures and additional EU funding which would be required to address the difficulties being experienced by fishermen across the EU and, particularly, in Ireland.

Commissioner Borg advised that following a full discussion on the range of issues affecting the industry at next week's Council, he will propose a definitive set of proposals for presentation to the Fisheries Council on 15 July. These proposals must include additional EU funding for the Irish fleet given the funding we have been allocated under the European Fisheries Fund of €42 million to cover the period 2007 to 2013 is woefully inadequate and is accounted for already by measures under the Cawley seafood development strategy. These funds are in the first instance being used towards the restructuring of the fleet in the decommissioning programme being pursued and the Federation of Irish Fishermen which has confirmed to me that it does not want the funds diverted to support emergency measures.

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