Tom Sheahan (Kerry South, Fine Gael)

I commend Deputy Creed on this Private Members' motion. It is hard to believe, but the bind that our fishermen are in did not develop overnight. I am led to believe that in 1972 an American philanthropist wrote to the Government of the day advising it not to join the EEC, as it then was. The reason, in one simple line, was that it would take our fish. I have not found this letter yet, but I will. What has happened since then? Ten times the value of the EU funding we have received has been taken out of our waters. Until now, fishermen have not had to protest as they have made a good living. There is no doubt about that. Over the past 30 or 35 years they made a good living, even though their working conditions were extreme and dangerous. I was in Athlone yesterday for a meeting of fishermen. Several hundred fishermen had tied up their boats to be there. There was a sense of anger and disillusionment. As well as the fishermen, their wives and families were also there, because they are all suffering. As I said, this did not happen overnight.

As a new Deputy, one of my first committee meetings was a meeting of the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Fisheries and Food at which the then Minister, Deputy Coughlan, was present. In my naivety, I asked her whether we as a State had ever gone to Europe to ask for more quota. The answer I received made me wonder whether I had spoken out of place. I got a put-down. Perhaps I did speak out of place, but as far as I know we have never asked for an increase in quota. We have never tried to claw back any of what we gave away. Fishermen are under severe pressure at present and we are putting it down to fuel costs and quota restrictions. The latter have been there for years, while the cost of fuel has increased by 40% over recent months.

As my colleague stated, what Irish fishermen want is equality. They want to be on a level playing field with other European fishermen, but they are not. I have evidence that French and Spanish boats are going out with diesel in their tanks that costs 50 cent a litre, while Irish boats go out with diesel that costs 91 cent a litre. I would love to have an explanation for this, but I understand how it is being done. It is not through EU funding but through a mechanism set up by the French and Spanish Governments by which fishermen receive a direct payment, similar to the family income supplement, which offsets the increase in fuel costs. This gives them much-needed help, but it means that Irish fishermen are not on a level playing field.

We need immediate proposals to save our fishing industry. We speak of decommissioning, which must be welcomed, even if the funding is to be only €42 million rather than the €58 million originally announced. We speak of marketing and say that Irish fish must be labelled and marketed as such. Yesterday in Athlone I spoke to the manager of a producer organisation who told me that in the co-op shop fillets of cod are being sold at €9.50 per kg, while in the local supermarket imported cod is being sold at €22.99 per kg. I do not know whether the Irish housewife would pay such exorbitant prices if she knew the fish was imported. Perhaps there is an opportunity there for the producer organisations themselves in terms of labelling and marketing.

The Minister, Deputy Smith, stated today that the regulations on illegal, unreported and unregistered fishing would not come into effect before 2010. This has been put on the long finger. Fishermen need immediate proposals to save the industry. Is the funding there to implement the recommendations in the Cawley report? This is a straight question. Is the funding there to implement the strategy without an operational programme?

The Minister advised us that quota restrictions in other countries are not the same as ours. In the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, we recently asked representatives of the Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority whether the authority had a boat. To my amazement, the answer was that it did not. The authority's 70 staff are, therefore, based on the coast and they nail Irish fishermen coming in, irrespective of what foreign boats do at sea. Big boats have mulchers on board and have a different quota regime. The Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority could not nail these boats, given the structure of quotas.

I will try to express the anger and frustration shown by fishermen at the meeting in Athlone yesterday. Though it is not included in the Cawley report, they believe that the one way to ensure a profitable, viable future for the fishing industry is to take control of our territorial waters. A committee was set up in the fishermen's organisations yesterday to approach the Federation of Irish Fishermen, FIF, and the Minister about taking charge of our territorial waters. I do not know how this goal will be achieved but the fishermen were very enthusiastic because they believe it is the only way they will have a say in what is a natural resource of the State. We own 20% of European waters but have only 4% of the quota and this would not happen anywhere else.

Fishermen are very unhappy about having to throw overboard perfectly good fish. There is starvation in the Third World and food shortages even threaten Europe, yet we discard fish catches worth millions because of quotas. This is ethically and morally wrong. To throw good food over the side of a boat is wrong but fishermen are afraid to come to shore and be nailed by the SFPA. They fear their boats will be tied up and their nets confiscated. They fear they will have to go to court, take out a massive bond and end up with a criminal record. They may be delayed for a couple of days. As I said, this is unethical and immoral.

I compliment the Minister on designating Schull and Union Hall as landing ports. A good day's work was done for fishermen in that part of the country. However, this was a small, cosmetic measure when one thinks of what fishermen are enduring. I ask the Minister to consider implementing a measure on harbour dues to help fishermen, who are not entitled to social welfare when they cannot go out in bad weather, their wives and families. Hopefully he will do this and help many fishermen throughout the country.

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