Andrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I compliment my colleagues on the sub-committee on the breadth and depth of their knowledge and acknowledge Deputies McNamara and Harrington as significant contributors to this report. I mention, in particular Senators Ó Domhnaill and Landy, who are very active contributors to, and participants on, the sub-committee. The format whereby committee reports are laid before this House and debated needs to be reviewed to allow for joint sittings, so that Senators who contribute to these reports have an opportunity to debate them. It is highly unlikely that the three Senators, who are members of the sub-committee will have an opportunity to bring the report before the Seanad. I suggest this needs to be considered in the next Dáil as such a change would be welcome.

Ireland's coastal communities have a richness of culture and heritage. A previous speaker referred to the value of the Irish language schools to the life of these communities. We advertise and showcase our coastal communities as being wonderful assets for the country and they enhance our reputation abroad. However, there is a danger that they will become like the rural post offices in that we will say how wonderful they are and lament them when they are gone but we will not do anything to help them when they are here. This is the fundamental principle behind the report.

The Minister of State has outlined the value of the industry but it should be noted that six harbours in the country are responsible for 72% of the output. However, we are talking about the other 28%. Whether the vessels inside the 12 mile limit are under 10 m, 12 m or 15 m, if left to their own devices there would be no danger to any fish stock and there would be no danger from drift-net fishing.

The report makes a number of specific recommendations based on the key themes. The aim of the report is to promote a sustainable socio-economic model for coastal, island and rural communities and we must not lose sight of this aim.

I refer to a report in the Marine Timesin February 2014 by Tom McSweeney entitled, Preserving Indigenous Communities:

The report of the Oireachtas joint committee on fisheries which has recommended how coastal and island communities can be sustained and developed into the future, is an important document which the Government must not put on the shelves where many reports are placed with the intention that they should be forgotten or ignored with the passing of time.

His comments at the conclusion of the article are worth considering. I acknowledge that certain initiatives are under way. Some of the recommendations in the report are provocative - which was deliberate - about the mackerel and the exclusivity of the 12 mile limit. However, many of the recommendations are pragmatic and practical, such as the PRSI changes so that people can feed their families. I mention a recent coffee morning held here for Nepal but climatic factors also affect fishermen and their boats can be tied up for three or four months apart from the restrictions on their quotas.

I am not from a fishing background but the models are the same. If we are to pay more than token attention to this sector, we need to consider the background to the report. The Comhairle na Mara idea is very pragmatic and it is not a quango. It could be established in-house. We could do the same for the forestry sector. This kind of forum needs to be established so that we can harness our ocean wealth in a true fashion and protect coastal and island communities because if they go, or if they are diminished, we will regret it.

Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan visited Cape Clear island and referred to the Irish language on the island. People go out to Cape Clear not to wander around in a vast waste land but rather to enjoy the culture. Many years ago I was pushing my eldest lad in a buggy on Sherkin island - he is now 25 - and I stopped to talk to a man on his way back from delivering his churn of milk. He broke out of his normal language to explain island living to me and he was very informative. I could have spent all day with him but the child started to cry because it was a very hot day.

That heritage and richness is something we cannot afford to lose. It boils down to having an economic and a sustainable model that can protect that environment, which is what we are trying to do, and the recommendations go a long way towards it.

The sub-committee members put a lot of work into this report but I would like to acknowledge, in particular, those in the Oireachtas Library and Research Service who helped us. We travelled to Scotland and I wish to acknowledge the hospitality and accommodation afforded us while in the Parliament and in Oban, where the Scottish Association for Marine Science is located and where a number of Irish senior marine engineers work. This visit enriched the process.

Scotland is the country most akin to us in many ways. It has the jagged, rough Atlantic coastline, island communities, native Gaelic speakers, aquaculture, marine energy and so many other things. I am not saying everything is perfect but examining how they process applications and deal with initiatives was worthwhile. Our fisheries local action groups, FLAGS, and inshore fisheries forums are a step in the right direction but they have a long way to go to be as effective. We are improving and it is the sub-committee's hope and expectation that, given the work put into the report, it will not be left to gather dust and that it will be used as a working model to develop a sustainable approach so that people can live, work and recreate in the coastal and island communities.

I thank my colleagues on, and the secretariat of, our sub-committee. It was quite unusual to pull three sub-committees into one. It was not a unique occurrence but it does not happen frequently. It took us a while to get established but it is fair to say that we covered a lot of detail during the 17 meetings and the visit to Scotland. The report contains 29 recommendations, many appendices, which give the background to the recommendations, and information on who and what entities fed into the process. We have carried out a comprehensive piece of work.

I acknowledge the Minister of State's presence today and that the Government and the Ceann Comhairle, in particular, have accommodated this motion. Given the conference in Cork, we toiled with the idea of deferring the taking this motion today but we had no guarantee it would see the light of day again before the end of this Dáil's lifetime. Everyone will probably agree it was the right decision to take this opportunity.

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