Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy. I will raise this again with the Minister, Deputy McConalogue. He has met with representatives of the inshore fisheries recently and is very aware of the challenges they face. He is committed to ensuring we identify and explore all avenues available to us in terms of the funding supports that may be put in place for inshore fisheries. In saying that, we as a member state must be aware that while the EU Cohesion Fund provided to our seafood sector is of huge benefit to the sector, there are constraints to how we may use that funding.

As I said already, funding supports alone will not resolve the challenges the inshore fishers are experiencing. There are a range of factors at play in terms of the impacts of the cost-of-living crisis, choices made by customers and the sustainability and availability of stocks. As regards stocks, following the International Council for Exploration of the Sea, ICES, advice, which has meant a by-catch only fishery this year, Ireland is actively involved with scientific research to improve the understanding of pollock. The Marine Institute is taking a lead role in the next ICES benchmark process for this stock, which will be completed in the spring of 2025. While the preliminary results indicate this extra information does not change the perception of the stock, the new model will give a more precise estimate of the state of the stock and improve the short-term forecasts that determine when the target fishery could reopen.

The Minister, Deputy McConalogue, and his officials will continue to work closely with the inshore sector on progressing the measures necessary to support the viability and sustainability of the sector. I will raise this issue with him.

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