Christy O'Sullivan (Cork South West, Fianna Fail)

I am delighted to have the opportunity to speak on this motion in light of the importance of the fishing industry to Cork South-West, which I represent, and the country as a whole. The entire coastal area of my constituency that runs from Kinsale to the Dursey Sound looks out on the Atlantic Ocean. There are people in every town and village along this coastline who, in one way or another, have spent all their lives involved in the fishing industry. The main fishing ports in the area are Castletownbere, Bantry, Schull, Baltimore, Union Hall and Kinsale. I have first-hand knowledge of the importance of the fishing industry to everyone in Cork South-West, particularly to those who live along the stretch of coastline to which I refer.

This is a timely debate in respect of an extremely important sector which is experiencing very difficult times. According to the Cawley report, the Irish seafood industry generates total annual revenues in excess of €700 million and provides direct employment for over 11,000 people. It is a vital indigenous industry and makes a significant contribution to the economy in terms of output, employment and exports.

I fully accept the commitments of both the Minister, Deputy Smith, and the Minister of State, Deputy Killeen, in respect of a long-term sustainable and profitable Irish fishing industry, which is critical to coastal communities throughout the country. I am satisfied that, since they were appointed, both have engaged fully with the Federation of Irish Fishermen. They met on several occasions with representatives of the federation and kept them fully briefed during the meeting of the Agriculture and Fisheries Council in Luxembourg last week. This is the kind of dialogue through which progress can be made. The Minister and Minister of State also travelled to Luxembourg for the specific reason of meeting the EU fisheries Commissioner and conveying to him, in the strongest possible terms, the concerns of Irish fishermen. I have no doubt that Commissioner Borg is now fully acquainted with the difficulties being experienced by Irish fishermen.

It was not today nor yesterday that the Irish fishing industry began to experience difficulties. Recent increases in fuel prices have not helped. In recognition of this, the then 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 with fishermen and fishing communities, Dr. Cawley brought forward a strategy, Steering A New Course: A Strategy for a Restructured, Sustainable and Profitable Irish Seafood Industry 2007-2013. This strategy maps the way forward for the industry. One of its key recommendations relates to the need to restructure the Irish fleet in order that it might become world class in nature and be ideally suited to coping with matters relating to fish stocks and species and the sustainable practices of the modern fisheries sector.

The decommissioning scheme launched in February reflects the extensive consultation that took place with the industry. This scheme will permanently remove fishing vessels from the Irish fleet, particularly a number of older and larger boats that are over ten years old and over 18 m in length. The first offers of grants under the scheme were made in the past couple of weeks and the programme of decommissioning will remove up to 35% of the larger whitefish vessels from the fleet. This will have significant consequential benefit for those who remain in the industry by increasing the quotas available to more modern, competitive fishing vessels and to smaller vessels. It will also ensure that we have a more sustainable and profitable fleet. This is particularly relevant to the home ports of the vessels being decommissioned. The scheme represents a very substantial commitment on the part of the Government to bring the fishing fleet into balance with remaining resources.

I find it difficult to understand or accept the issue relating to discards. While I accept this is a complex problem, it is one which simply must be addressed. I welcome the commitment on the part of the Minister and Minister of State to focus on the early adoption of new conservation measures to reduce the deliberate discarding of fish. Most discarded fish do not survive and I see no advantage, from the point of view of conservation, in throwing them overboard. When one takes into account the cost to fishermen of going to sea and then being obliged to discard perfectly good catches, what is happening makes no sense.

I welcome the announcement by Minister of State, Deputy Killeen, regarding the establishment, under the chairmanship of the CEO of An Bord lascaigh Mhara, of a new Irish seafood marketing initiative to maximise opportunities in the domestic seafood market for the Irish fishing fleet. I also welcome the establishment of a new Irish fisheries science research partnership under the chairmanship of the CEO of the Marine Institute. The latter will enhance collaboration and mutual understanding on fisheries science priorities that are beneficial to the long-term future of the fishing industry.

I support the efforts of the Minister and Minister of State to persuade the EU fisheries Commissioner to examine new information in respect of cod stocks in the Celtic Sea and to consider the possibility of a sustainable increase in access for Irish fishermen to these stocks in order to alleviate the pressure on their incomes. No one knows better than fishermen the importance of the conservation of stocks and it is not in their interest to overfish.

It is important to remember what lies at the heart of this matter, namely, fishermen and their families trying to survive. People who have invested huge amounts of money and time in building up the industry in the past are finding it impossible to make a decent living. These individuals are not just constituents, they are neighbours and friends. I live in a part of the country where we, as a community, suffer the pain of lives lost at sea and observe our friends and neighbours enduring extreme hardship as a result of the serious problems the industry faces.

It is vital we remain in regular contact with fishermen and listen to what they have to say. We must listen when they inform us about the difficulties they face and work to resolve them. Fishermen state that they are being over-policed by fishery officers who make it almost impossible for them to work and carry out their business and that their counterparts in other EU countries are treated differently. Action must be taken in respect of their concerns.

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