John Connolly (Galway West, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Minister. It is quite a low number of participants considering we are an island nation. Fishing has been a traditional means of earning a living and sustaining some vibrancy in coastal communities in this country for centuries. The number the Minister has given us as regards people availing of this scheme is an indicator of the number of people involved in the industry in general. That is a matter for another debate on another occasion.

One of the things we could look at in trying to ensure people continue in this trade and craft is the other small marine-based trades and industries that could avail of fish assist or for which a similar scheme could be introduced. I think particularly of seaweed harvesting. One of the things about the fish assist scheme that prevents people from also participating in seaweed harvesting is that any income above £1000, that is, €1,270, gained from seaweed harvesting eliminates the opportunity to avail of the fish assist scheme.

See this speech in context