Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Deputy Browne has been in this ministry before and will know the preparation required for the negotiations on total allowable catches, TACs, and fishing quotas. These preparations have been completed this year in an impressive manner.

There has been much talk about getting the reforms of the Common Agricultural Policy done during the Irish EU Presidency. I am equally focused on the Common Fisheries Policy. We want to get a deal for all countries but one that will also shape policy to ensure the Irish industry can survive and grow. One of the key issues under discussion is how we deal with discards.

At the moment in many of our fisheries up to 40% or 50% of the fish caught are being dumped over the side, dead. They are either juvenile fish or in some cases adult fish. We need and we will find solutions to that and I hope the industry will work with me in the change process.

We are moving towards what is termed maximum sustainable yield in how we determine quotas each year. The idea is that there is a set formula now based on data collection and linked to total allowable catch which can measure what a fish species can take in terms of the amount of fish caught each year to ensure that the stocks can survive and grow. We are trying to apply maximum sustainable yield, MSY, calculations to as many of the stocks as we can and to have enough data to do that by 2015. We are trying to apply it to all the stocks with sufficient data by 2020. That is part of the programme.

The other issue relates to regionalisation of decision making. This is something we are supportive of because we are keen to see countries fishing in Irish waters making decisions on the management of stocks in Irish waters rather than others, but we also want the protection of the Commission to ensure that Ireland does not get outvoted or outnumbered in a regionalisation structure on decision making. For example, we want to avoid a scenario whereby the French and Spanish could gang up on Ireland and make decisions on fish stocks in Irish waters. That would be unacceptable. Only when there is a unanimous decision on a regionalised decision-making process will we support it. Otherwise we want to be able to go back to the Commission, which is essentially there to support small nations.

The challenge is to find common ground with the European Parliament. I will spend a good deal of time in Brussels talking to people in the European Parliament about how to ensure that the Council, which is represented by Ministers, and the European Parliament can come together in a co-decision process to find a compromise position on the future of the fishing industry and to try to get that job done by the end of June next year. I believe it will be possible to do it but it will be demanding.

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