Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)

I wish to share time with Deputies McHugh, D'Arcy and Ring.

I thank the Minister of State for coming back to me since last week's committee meeting to clarify a number of outstanding issues in this regard. However, Fine Gael will not support the order because it facilitates government incompetence. The elections should have taken place two and a half years ago. We had the same debate as last year when we were informed the only mechanism available to the Government was to postpone the elections for a year to restructure the sector. A year later we are being asked to the same. This is not part of the Government's rationalisation plan, even though it has been put in that category. Three years ago a good report supported by Fine Gael recommended the restructuring of the inland fisheries sector. However, we have lost patience with the Government's capacity to do this. We are being asked again to take another leap of faith and to trust the Minister to do what he says he will do this time when this could have been done over the past two years.

We also have concerns regarding the composition of the restructuring implementation group because no outsider is involved to introduce new thinking or experience from abroad. The group comprises two departmental officials — an assistant secretary and a principal officer — and four, granted they are excellent, officials from the central and regional fisheries boards. Many good people are working in this sector but if restructuring is to take place and something new is to be done to improve the system and provide efficiencies, new thinking is needed. An examination of the sector in other countries must be conducted and we need to benefit from their experience.

The Minister of State is saying that if everyone agrees to restructure, no one will lose his or her job and everyone will retain his or her current working conditions. We had a similar debate when we agreed to set up the HSE. Every official was told on the record in no uncertain terms that he or she would retain his or her job and nobody would be inconvenienced but the HSE is a now a mess and similar assurances are being given to fisheries board staff. People who are working well in the sector should have an input but if we are serious about restructuring and achieving efficiency through an improved system, the Minister of State cannot make a grand statement that nobody will be inconvenienced or upset regarding his or her working conditions. That does not make sense in the context of restructuring to improve the system.

I am concerned about the way the Minister of State is going about this and, in particular, that the Government is unable to meet the deadlines it sets for itself. We have no faith it will do so this time either. On that basis, we cannot wave another green flag enabling the Government to continue on the road to restructuring the inland fisheries sector because of our experience of its delays and incompetence to date.

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