Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North, Fine Gael)

Since 1 October 2010 all 15 m to 24 m vessels must have a fishing vessel safety certificate, FVSC, to continue fishing. To obtain such a certificate, a vessel must undergo the code of practice survey with the marine survey office, MSO.

The initial cost of the survey is €100 per metre. That is a minimum cost of €1,500 and a maximum cost of €2,400. To complete the inclination stability portion of the survey the majority of vessels would have to engage the services of a naval architect, the cost of which is between €2,000 and €3,000. In addition, vessel owners are usually given a list of works to be carried out on their vessel and the current experience is that the cost of these works varies from €20,000 to €100,000. There are 99 vessels in the Irish fleet of 15 m to 24 m aged more than ten years which would be required to undergo the process outlined to obtain a fishing vessel safety certificate. Of these 99 vessels, only 63 had applied for the survey at the end of September.

Up to date figures were requested from the MSO and the licensing section of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. The MSO advised that there were 89 vessels in the 15 m to 24 m category which had obtained either final or interim certificates. However, this figure includes less than ten-year old vessels that would have undergone the survey last year. No breakdown of the numbers in the under ten-year category and over ten-year category was forthcoming. It also advises that 43 vessels still undergoing the survey process have not received a certificate and they are tied up. No updated figure was provided regarding vessels due to undergo the survey but whose owners did not apply.

The owners of 36 vessels did not apply for the survey and for the majority the reason they did not apply was their vessel would not have been capable of passing the survey, regardless of the works carried out on it, or they were unable to obtain the finance necessary to complete the survey process. These vessels have been tied up and their crews face the unemployment offices. The Irish Fish Producers Organisation estimates that 200 jobs have been lost as the 36 vessels referred to have had to cease fishing and their crews are now unemployed. Temporary job losses are related to the vessels undergoing the survey but which have not completed a significant portion of the work and, therefore, do not have a fishing vessel safety certificate.

I received a letter from a fisherman from Fenit, County Kerry, who was fishing on a 23 m trawler out of that port. He confirmed that he and many other trawler owners along the coast had been tied up since 1 October because their fishing licences will not be issued until they comply with a certificate of competency, COC, the Minister introduced three years ago. According to this fisherman, up to 300 fishermen are out of work with no income because they are self-employed and, therefore, not entitled to social welfare. There is also a threat to many onshore jobs in the fishing industry. He said large sums need to be spent in order that the oldest boats comply and because there is no access to finance through the banks, the owners cannot carry out this work.

He asks that the Minister provide a temporary certificate until a full survey is carried out. Fisherman are more safety conscious nowadays than they were in the past and they have no intention of going to sea to risk their own lives or those of their crew. There is no question of negligence involved in this problem; it is a matter for expediency to allow them to fish coming up to Christmas. The MSO does not have sufficient staff to survey the boats in question anyway and it will take them some time to get around. We do not have sufficient dry dock facilities to examine these boats either. Will the Minister of State convey to the Minister that the solution to this matter is to issue temporary safety certificates?

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