Charlie O'Connor (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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I congratulate the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Deputy Brendan Smith, and the Minister for State at the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Deputy Killeen, on their appointments.

Tony Killeen (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome this opportunity to review the issues relating to the fishing industry and, in particular, to consider the current difficulties it is facing arising from high fuel costs.

As Minister of State with responsibility for fisheries I would like to assure the House of my full commitment and, that of my colleague, the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Deputy Brendan Smith, to a long-term sustainable and profitable fishing industry which is absolutely critical to coastal communities around the country where alternative economic activities are limited.

Quality, safe seafood is of the highest importance to consumers and we have in Ireland access to a resource that will deliver high quality local products to the Irish market. The fishing industry is an indigenous industry creating jobs and wealth in parts of the country that do not have access to much of the other urban based employment and wealth creation opportunities. The Government is, and has been, fully committed to the development of the industry which is based on an indigenous and perpetually renewable resource and of ever increasing value.

It is fair to say that it has been recognised by both successive Governments and the fishing industry for some time that there was need to address some of the fundamental problems facing the fishing industry in Ireland. In recognition of this situation, the Minister appointed Dr. Noel Cawley to chair an independent review of the industry and to bring forward a plan for its restructuring and development. Following intensive discussions around the coast with fishermen and fishing communities, Dr. Cawley, with the support of Mr. Joey Murrin and Mr. Ruain Ó Brie, brought forward a strategy, Steering A New Course: A Strategy for a Restructured, Sustainable and Profitable Irish Seafood Industry 2007-2013.

The strategy sets out a vision for a sustainable, profitable and self-reliant industry to maximise its long-term contribution to coastal communities based on fish stocks restored to sustainable levels in the context of a healthy and diverse marine environment. It focuses on a number of key areas, including the restructuring of the fishing fleet to bring it into balance with available resources, a more innovative and co-ordinated approach to the marketing of seafood capitalising on its healthy and nutritious image and, maximising the value of seafood at every stage from the sea to the table. The Government has committed to this strategy in the programme for Government and has provided for its implementation in the National Development Plan 2007-2013.

The escalation of fuel costs as a result of global economic and political conditions remains a matter of serious concern for all sectors of industry. However, it is acknowledged that the fishing industry's reliance on fuel is such that it is impacted on far more than other sectors. I reassure the House that I am fully cognisant of, and sympathetic to, the plight of Irish fishermen in the current climate. It would be simplistic and irresponsible to suggest that there are any quick fixes to the current hiatus but I firmly believe that solutions are to a large extent set down in the Cawley strategy. We would be foolish if we abandon the course of actions which were carefully thought through to address many of the fundamental structural current problems facing the industry. We must stay on course and the Government and I remain fully committed to the delivery of the Cawley strategy.

The problems identified in the Cawley strategy have been further compounded by increases in the price of fuel. The immediate short-term measures proposed by the fishing industry, such as tie-up aid, can only be addressed in Europe. I firmly believe that the fuel crisis facing the Irish fishing industry is a European issue and can only be comprehensively dealt with in the European context.

The Minister and I met with the Federation of Irish Fishermen, FIF, shortly after our appointments to get a flavour of issues facing the fishing sector and heard directly from it the impact of high fuel costs on the Irish industry. As we realised the serious impacts we decided that we needed to immediately bring the matter to the attention of the EU Commission as this was clearly a European issue. Without delay, the Minister spoke at length by phone to Commissioner Borg on 6 June outlining his misgivings at the slow response from the Commission to the current situation and conveyed to him the industry's dismay at the position in which it finds itself.

Following much publicised unrest, the Minister and I again met with the FIF in Athlone on 13 June. Following a nine hour frank and productive meeting, we committed to meeting with Commissioner Borg in advance of the Fisheries Council to re-emphasise in the strongest possible terms the long-term and short-term issues facing the Irish fishing industry and to press for a fast and effective EU Commission response to the impact of high oil prices, and other issues, on Ireland's fishing fleet.

The Minister and I met yesterday in Strasbourg with Commissioner Borg to discuss the difficulties being experienced by fishermen across Europe and particularly in Ireland. At that meeting, we forcefully put to the Commissioner all the key points raised by the Federation of Irish Fishermen last Friday. In the course of the meeting, we impressed upon the Commissioner, as we had undertaken to do during a meeting with the Federation of Irish Fishermen on Friday last, the serious difficulties and the depth of feeling of Irish fishermen and also the urgent need to bring forward a new EU-funded package of measures to alleviate the concerns of Irish fishermen. We also discussed the proposals outlined by the Commissioner and published on Wednesday evening.

While I welcomed the proposals, we highlighted the absence of a provision for additional EU funding to underwrite the proposals. We indicated that the total European fisheries fund allocation to Ireland over the seven year period was only €42 million and that the Government was, under the Cawley strategy and with the support of the fishermen, about to commit at least the same amount of money in the national voluntary decommissioning scheme for older whitefish trawlers. In that context we re-emphasised the need for the Commission to come forward with additional EU funds to support some of the emergency short term measures called for by the Federation of Irish Fishermen and outlined in the Commissioner's proposals as published. Commissioner Borg indicated that he was exploring within DG Mare all possibilities for the identification of some additional funding for the package.

I am satisfied that Commissioner Borg is now fully acquainted with the issues of concern to Irish fishermen as outlined to the Minister and me last week by the Federation of Irish Fishermen at our meeting in Athlone. As many of the issues are also of concern to fishermen in other member states, I will be working closely with like-minded colleagues at next Tuesday's Fisheries Council to continue to press for the package of measures and additional EU funding which would be required to address the difficulties being experienced by fishermen across the EU and, particularly, in Ireland.

Commissioner Borg advised that following a full discussion on the range of issues affecting the industry at next week's Council, he will propose a definitive set of proposals for presentation to the Fisheries Council on 15 July. These proposals must include additional EU funding for the Irish fleet given the funding we have been allocated under the European Fisheries Fund of €42 million to cover the period 2007 to 2013 is woefully inadequate and is accounted for already by measures under the Cawley seafood development strategy. These funds are in the first instance being used towards the restructuring of the fleet in the decommissioning programme being pursued and the Federation of Irish Fishermen which has confirmed to me that it does not want the funds diverted to support emergency measures.

Tom Sheahan (Kerry South, Fine Gael)
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Hear, hear.

Tony Killeen (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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In addition to the direct impacts of high fuel costs for fishing fleets, I also raised with Commissioner Borg a number of other important issues for the Irish fishing industry that need to be addressed in the European context. These matters were raised with the Minister and me during our meeting with the Federation of Irish Fishermen on 15 June last.

The Irish industry is subject to unfair competition, in particular from fish landed by fishing vessels operating completely outside the legal framework. This type of fishing is known as illegal, unreported and unregulated, IUU, fishing and the adoption of measures to eliminate IUU fish from the EU market is on the agenda of the Fisheries Council in Luxembourg on 23 June.

IUU fishing means that catches are either misreported or not reported at all. It is a major contributor to overfishing. Estimates of the value of IUU fishing worldwide is €10 billion. By comparison, the value of EU landings is approximately €7 billion. EU fishermen face fierce competition from IUU operators who disregard all the many obligations that legal operators take on. This results in a loss of market share for the EU legal operator due to different cost structures. The problem has worsened over recent years with the globalisation of the fisheries sector and this has led to increased trade flows of fisheries products whose legality is difficult to ascertain.

The EU is the biggest market for and the leading importer of fisheries products with imports of almost €4 billion. An estimate of illegal fisheries products imported into the EU each year is set at 500,000 tonnes with a value of €1.1 billion or even higher. We must take strong action to address this menace which is both destroying fish stocks and undermining the markets for Irish fishermen. The new proposals, which I will be pushing to be adopted at next week's Fisheries Council focus on trade measures and put the onus on member states where fish are landed or imported to verify that they were caught using legal means. They also include provisions setting down sanctions against countries which continue to facilitate IUU fishing by providing flags of convenience for illegal vessels. This is an important new policy, which is timely and urgent. It will, I believe, support the EU market for Irish fishermen and contribute to improving fish prices.

Since my appointment as Minister of State with responsibility for fisheries, one of the most common issues of concern raised with me by the general public is the level of discards occurring around our coast. I am fully committed to finding solutions to this problem as early as possible. Again, tackling discards, especially of mature fish, was one of the key concerns which was identified at the meeting with the FIF. I share the concerns of fishermen and the general public in regard to the issue of discarding marketable fish and small fish which are the seed crop for the coming years.

I have been fully briefed on the issues and I am advised that the issue is complex and challenging. The issue of high levels of discards in commercial sea fisheries is a global problem and is on the agenda of all major international organisations that deal with the development of sustainable sea fisheries and the protection of marine ecosystems. Fish discarding is a complex problem and is a feature of most fisheries particularly in mixed fisheries such as those which prevail in waters around Ireland. The solution to discarding must be found at the European level because the rules on fishing gears, mesh sizes and the recording of catches are all set at European level and are applicable to all EU fleets.

Discarding means the deliberate jettisoning of all or some of a catch by a fishing vessel. There can be a number of reasons for discarding, including for example where a catch takes the vessel over its quota for that species; the vessel has no quota allocation for a particular species taken in a mixed fishery; the catch taken contains fish below minimum landing sizes; the practice of high grading, which happens when some of the catch is of varying size or quality — only the best will be retained and the rest discarded; or, the species caught has low or no market demand or the price is too low. Fish discarded do not usually survive but are not recorded in the vessel's logbook as part of the catch and so the true amount of fish taken out of a stock cannot be determined accurately. This has implications for appropriate and sustainable fisheries management and also particularly impacts on young fish. The specification of minimum landing sizes is intended to provide protection in particular for young fish, in order to provide for the continuation of the stock and the sustainability of the fishery.

A 2005 study published by the Food and Agriculture Organisation estimated the amount of discards in the North Atlantic at 1,332,000 tonnes per year, approximately 13% of the catches. The estimated discards for the North Sea ranged from 500,000 to 880,000 tonnes. To the west of Ireland and Scotland, discards ranged from 31% to 90% of catches, depending on the fleets, target species and depth. In the Mediterranean and Black Seas, discards amounted to 18,000 tonnes or 4.9% of the catches. In the Baltic, this rate was estimated to be low, at an average of 1.4%.

There is general agreement among fishermen, managers, and scientists alike that such practices are wasteful and destructive and must be reduced although it is doubtful that they can be eliminated completely, particularly in mixed fisheries. The focus, therefore, must be to minimise them.

Ireland has been to the forefront in pressing for action on this issue at European level. During the Irish Presidency in 2004, we chose the theme of fast tracking the development of environmentally friendly fishing methods as a key focus. A major international conference was held in Dundalk involving EU member states, Norway and Iceland, with the emphasis on how to reduce discards in commercial fisheries. Measures proposed to tackle discarding and supported by various stakeholders include improvements in fishing gears and gear selectivity, improvements in fishing methods and fishing practices, the recording of catches rather than landings, onboard observer schemes etc.

A joint Irish-UK pilot project in the Irish Sea aims to reduce discarding. The Irish Sea enhanced data collection project has been developed collaboratively between fishing industry representatives, scientists, the North West Waters Regional Advisory Committee and the national administrations from Ireland, England and Northern Ireland. This study is a very important step in the collection of data on discards with the aim of introducing a scheme whereby discards would be minimised and ultimately eliminated.

The European Commission has made the elimination of discarding one of the four main fisheries priorities for its Fisheries Directorate. The Commission adopted a communication on the issue of discards in fisheries on 28 March 2007. Following further work, a communication on a policy to reduce unwanted by-catches and discards in European fisheries was presented to Council in June 2007. The Council adopted a range of conclusions on the Commission proposal and these will determine the agenda at European level on this issue for the immediate future.

The current programme for Government commits to increasing supports to assist fishermen to make the change over to more environmentally friendly fishing gear and I am confident that this will also assist in reducing the incidence of discarding in key fisheries. At my meeting yesterday with Commissioner Borg I raised this issue as a priority for me, and for the Federation of Irish Fishermen. While he acknowledged that finding effective solutions is challenging, he restated his commitment to continue to prioritise the current work programme agreed by the Council in June 2007. I will continue to press for progress on this issue at national, EU and international levels and I am confident that with the co-operation, collaboration and commitment of all the stakeholders significant improvements can be achieved in this most sensitive area for the long-term sustainability of our industry.

Industry representatives highlighted to me the particular difficulties they are currently experiencing in the cod fishery in the Celtic Sea. The landings of cod have been high so far this year. A relatively open regime for fishing these stocks was put in place in conjunction with the industry early in the year, reflecting the good market prices available at that time. As a result the cod quotas around the coast are fully exhausted or almost so. This poses a very difficult problem for fishermen now because cod is taken in a mixed fishery with other stocks such as haddock and whiting as well as in the nephrops fishery and cod caught has to be either completely discarded or part discarded depending on the situation with the relevant quota.

For the Celtic Sea cod stock, the 2008 quotas were set at the December 2007 Fisheries Council where a preliminary 2008 TAG for Celtic Sea cod was set at 4,316 tonnes under Council regulations.

The need for a level playing field across the EU on fisheries control has been recognised as a national priority both by industry and by the Government. We have consistently pushed at EU level for these controls. Yesterday Commissioner Borg acknowledged that the issue has been raised with him by a number of other countries and Ministries. On foot of the Court of Auditor findings, the Commission has prioritised control and has stated that it intends to review the regulatory regime, to put greater responsibility on member states and give itself stronger powers in this regard. This is an extremely important issue from the Irish point of view.

There is also the matter of administrative sanctions which was raised by the fishermen. I recognise that fishermen would prefer a regime of administrative sanctions, as is the norm on the Continent. The possibility of introducing administrative sanctions was comprehensively considered, including an examination of practices in other member states, at the time of the passage of the Sea Fisheries and Maritime Jurisdiction Bill through the Oireachtas. The position taken at the time is well known. It is an issue which is of considerable concern and worry to the FIF and the Department is examining it in so far as that can be done at this stage.

National measures are being progressed to take account of the current difficulties being experienced by fishermen. The current whitefish decommissioning scheme which aims to remove a large number of older trawlers from the whitefish fleet is of critical importance. BIM's assessment of applications made under the €42 million decommissioning programme is nearing completion and letters of offer to eligible applicants will issue in the very near future.

This strategy of restructuring the fleet in terms of capacity and efficiency is a key recommendation in line the Government's Cawley seafood development strategy. It is also the cornerstone of the Commission's strategy which, while allowing for short-term emergency aid, continues to emphasise that this is a long-term matter and that medium to long-term restructuring of the fleet must be the priority.

The Minister for Agriculture and Food, Deputy Smith, and I listened very carefully to issues raised by FIF at the two meetings we have had with it and there are several initiatives that we propose to take in the short term. We are establishing the Irish seafood market initiative under the chair of Jason Whooley, CEO of BIM. The remit of this initiative will be to discuss, identify and maximize the opportunities for domestic seafood supply to the Irish seafood market. A second initiative to be taken is the Irish fisheries science research partnership which will be under the chairmanship of Dr. Peter Heffernan, CEO of the Marine Institute. This will ensure that the huge amount of knowledge and information in the fishing industry will be taken account of and put into play, in conjunction with the tremendous work that the insititute and its scientists do on behalf of the industry in terms of conservation.

The aim is to ensure there are stocks for future generations of fishermen as well as for those in the current fleets. All the information available, from the fleet and its members and from the research people, can be brought together in a meaningful manner and used to influence policies adopted at EU level to the best possible outcome for Irish fishermen.

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister and the Minister of State for being here for a critical debate at a critical time for the Irish fishing industry. It is important that the House has an opportunity to address these issues before the meeting of the Council of Ministers in order to put down markers in respect of those important negotiations. I am under no illusions and neither, I am sure, is the Minister, after his day-long meeting with the Federation of Irish Fishermen on what is expected in the outcome.

I wish to read some of the content of an e-mail which I received from the wife of a fisherman. More articulately than any of us could attempt, it summarises the plight of the fishing industry at the moment:

Dear Michael,

I am a fisherman's wife and I am writing to you to highlight the desperate situation we are all in that has led to our husbands having to stoop to the measures that they have over the past couple of days. I don't have an agenda, I am just trying to save our livelihood, home etc.

My husband has owned his own boat for the past 10 years, we remortgaged our home and took out a marine mortgage to buy the boat and have NEVER received a penny in grants or anything else from the State. Up until the start of the year we were employing 5 men + my husband all of whom are completely tax compliant. . . We have had to cut this back to 4 due to our worsening financial position.

My husband has a completely clear record, in 10 years he has never even been cautioned never mind committed an offence, Fishing is a stressful and dangerous job and stress is being added to profoundly by the inclusion of fisheries offences in the Criminal Justice Bill as a criminal offence. The lads are living in dread of one of the inspectors finding some clerical error that could end with them with a criminal record. The Dept of Marine regularly makes mistakes (we have gotten licenses with incorrect numbers on them etc.) that are just ignored but when the shoe is on the other foot it is a criminal offence!

We haven't taken wages ourselves out of the boat for the past 3 months — the money just isn't there and the lads have seen their wages almost halved due to the high price of fuel. The boat was at sea for 10 days on its last trip (240 hours away from family and friends for the crew) and for this they got 725 euro per man before tax — i.e. 3 euros per hour.

. . .Someone made a dreadful mess of the quotas this year which has left a lot of the boats in a really bad way. They left the cod quota open in January and February and boats that wouldn't normally land much cod landed hundreds of tonnes of very low quality cod which crashed the prices on the traditional cod fishermen and left little or no quota for the rest of the year. We calculated the loss from dumping non-quota fish over the side and it worked out at €250 per man on the last trip. When you are earning as little as these guys now are it must be soul destroying to look at that sort of money disappearing back over the side. This mismanagement of the quota is a disgrace.

Ireland has the largest share of European waters yet has the smallest most underdeveloped fleet and the least amount of quota of all the EU nations.

The Government have also introduced a new safety survey that all boats have to undergo. We [recently] attended a conference with the people who will be carrying out this survey on behalf of the Government and they gave an indication that even modern boats (less than 10 years old) would have to invest in excess of €100,000 to meet the very exacting standards that have been set for Irish boats . . . I don't know where they think that money is going to come from but I can tell you there isn't a bank in Ireland that will give a loan to a fishing boat at the moment.

The e-mail outlines some of the demands with which the Minister is familiar. They include demands for additional quota; a tie-up scheme similar to the set-aside scheme for farmers — that would work better than any quotas; an investment scheme from the Government in fuel-efficiency measures; a review of the criminal justice legislation to remove fishing offences and consider them as they are considered in other EU countries; a reduction in the duty on fuel; and a diversion of some of the effort being put into inspecting 100% of Irish vessels towards the inspection of foreign boats. The correspondent concludes as follows: "Sorry this has been so long winded but at this stage I am desperate for someone to understand that we are not just being disruptive about the price of fuel — we are in real crisis!" This correspondence summarises what is happening Irish fishermen on the high seas more eloquently than any I have seen to date.

Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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Hear, hear.

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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I welcome this opportunity to address the crisis in the fishing industry in advance of next week's meeting of the Council of Ministers. It is appropriate that an industry worth €750 million to the Irish economy and employing approximately 12,000 should be afforded proper political scrutiny and attention. It is worth pointing out also that it is an industry located substantially, though not entirely, in geographically challenged locations for alternative industries. If the fishing industry disappears in these areas, there will be few alternatives.

The industry faces numerous challenges to its viability although, due to time restrictions, I will not elaborate on all of them. They include diesel costs, quota restrictions, imports, falling fish prices, illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, the failure to brand and market Irish fish, illogical conservation measures to deal with by-catch, and a regulatory regime that is perceived to be heavy-handed and which is at variance with the EU norm.

The unambiguous message that needs to go out from this debate is that, without a financial rescue package, the industry will collapse. There is provision at EU level for this and the Minister will have to deliver on it in a very tight timeframe. I do not want to hear talk of learning curves for Ministers new to their Departments. If one is in the job, one is expected by fishermen to be on the job.

I accept these negotiations are not straightforward. In this context, a couple of markers must be put down. It is preferable that the aid be EU derived. However, protracted wrangling for months on end is not an option. This must be decided next week at the meeting of the Council of Ministers. If not, fishermen will simply go out of business. If there is to be State aid, so be it. Vigilance is necessary to ensure that Irish fishermen are not at a cost disadvantage in this regard vis-À-vis the French and Spanish, whose Exchequer pockets are deeper. Payments per boat to the industry are needed now to stave off collapse and such payment must not detract from existing approval for State aid in the decommissioning process.

The Cawley report is the accepted blueprint for the industry. It would be appropriate at this time to ask its authors to carry out a review of the industry and its current state of health so the blueprint can be updated and revised to take account of the current crisis.

With diesel prices increasing at an alarming rate, it needs to be noted that the Government is receiving a windfall financial gain it did not envisage at the beginning of the financial year. The proceeds of up to 75% of catch are now spent on diesel costs in many instances. This, allied to wage costs and stagnant or declining fish prices, means many cannot sustain the current losses indefinitely.

One of the reasons for stagnant or falling fish prices is the dumping on the EU market of illegal, unreported and unregulated fish. This matter is the subject of a report of the European Parliament adopted recently on 5 June 2008. This report suggests that up to 50% of catch could fall into this category in the area of cod and tuna, for example. The report deals in a comprehensive fashion with the problem, proposing a system of vessel identification, port control, certification of fish as legal, banning of imports from non-co-operating countries and inspection by EU states at a rate of 50% at ports where third country vessels dock. The original percentage of inspections proposed was 15%. The recommendations of the report should be implemented immediately. If implemented, they will deliver an improved price to fishermen for their catch. The report is a declared priority of the Slovenian EU Presidency. Next week's meeting will probably be the final one under that Presidency and therefore the Minister should push strongly for the implementation of the recommendations.

Conservation must be at the heart of the Common Fisheries Policy. I understand — although, despite my best efforts, I cannot get confirmation from the Irish Marine Institute — that science now supports an increase in cod quota in the Celtic Sea. If so, this needs to be delivered immediately. If one takes into account the opening remarks on the management on cod quota this year, one will realise it makes it all the more urgent.

The lunacy that obliges accidental catch to be discarded over board in the name of conservation must be ended. I acknowledge the contribution of the Minister of State in this regard. The practice of discarding in the North Atlantic 1.3 billion tonnes of fish is nothing short of immoral. It may be dressed up as conservation but does not stand up to scrutiny in this regard. The practice must be considered in light of the global switch from food production to bio-fuel production at a time of food shortages. This requires immediate redress. I am not suggesting for an instant that the European Union needs to dilute its commitment to appropriate conservation measures because this is what will ensure the survival of the industry in the longer term. Conservation needs to be scientifically based but the dumping of fish stands up to no scrutiny whatever in the name of conservation. It is practically immoral.

A wide chasm now exists between the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority, SFPA, and the fishing community. At the heart of this is the legislation that criminalises fishermen for offences that elsewhere in the Union are dealt with by way of administrative sanction. A uniform approach to these issues is required across the Union. More resources need to be devoted by the SFPA to boarding and inspecting foreign trawlers, which take over 80% of the catch from Irish waters. The notion of shooting fish in a barrel comes to mind with regard to the disproportionate attention accorded to Irish fishermen in this regard.

The Joint Committee on Agriculture, Fisheries and Food recently met representatives of the SFPA and members noted the authority is revising its service level with the Naval Service in terms of increased boardings of non-Irish trawlers. The number of inspections needs to be significantly higher. If 80% of the catch in Irish waters is being taken by foreign fleets, 80% of the boardings should be of those vessels.

Tom Sheahan (Kerry South, Fine Gael)
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That is correct.

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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That is the proportionate response required. If further resources are required by the Naval Service to achieve this, so be it. The finger of suspicion points uneasily to the Irish fishing community. Regrettably, advertising campaigns embarked upon by the SFPA wrongly strengthened the overall perception that there is a criminal element in the Irish fishing industry. This is wholly wrong and undesirable.

The figures the SFPA's representatives showed to the members of the committee suggest the level of compliance of Irish fishermen with the stringent and difficult regulations under the new regulatory regime is extremely high. This message needs to be loud and clear.

I have a specific question for the Minister, Deputy Brendan Smith, whom I presume will be responding to the debate. Arising from last week's meeting in Athlone, the Minister announced two new initiatives, namely, a sea food marketing initiative and a new fisheries science research partnership, under the chairmanship of Mr. Jason Whooley of Bord Iascaigh Mhara and Dr. Peter Heffernan of the Marine Institute, respectively. Will specific additional resources be made available to Bord Iascaigh Mhara and the Marine Institute to fund these initiatives or is this simply a figleaf for the Minister to wave in front of the Federation of Irish Fishermen as a way out of a difficult situation? If the Minister is planning such initiatives on the cheap, they will not work. While they are worthwhile, they need to be funded.

P J Sheehan (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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I thank my colleague, Deputy Michael Creed, for sharing time. I also congratulate the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Deputy Brendan Smith, and the Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food with responsibility for fisheries and forestry, Deputy Tony Killeen. I hope commonsense will prevail when they meet Commissioner Borg next week. It is sad to reflect that this island nation does not receive preferential treatment because it is the only island nation in Europe that relies greatly on its marine industry.

For years our stocks have been pilfered by foreign trawlers and all Irish fishermen seek is for commonsense to prevail and a level playing pitch as far as their European counterparts are concerned. It is sad to reflect that hardworking Irish fishermen are criminalised and branded as criminals because they have a box or two of fish over and above the limit in their catch. How can a fisherman control the number of fish that enter his or her trawl? It is well-nigh impossible. I appeal to the Minister and the Minister of State, when meeting Commissioner Borg in Europe next week, to emphasise to him the plight our Irish fishermen are in through rising fuel costs, inadequate quotas and excessive surveillance by the Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority. This famous authority was set up, mar dhea, to preserve the stocks in Ireland. How can it do so when vast amounts of edible fish are dumped over the gunwales of the boats for the whales and whatever else to consume?

Unless active consideration is given in Europe to our fishing industry, the day of pious words will butter no bread for Irish fishermen. I ask the Minister, who is making his debut in Europe, to use his clout on behalf of Irish fishermen to ensure the continuation of a national industry that kept Ireland going down through the years.

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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I propose to share time with Deputies Tommy Broughan and Brendan Howlin, if I may.

I received the same e-mail as Deputy Creed and I believe it has summed up the situation as it relates to a family that is completely reliant on fishing for its livelihood. A husband and wife re-mortgaged a house to invest in a boat, employ a crew of five people and take to the seas. In one instance, it spent ten days, or 240 hours, at sea for a return of €725 per man before tax. Basically, they were earning €3 per hour. Moreover, the same fishermen then are obliged to incur the stringent regulations applied by the authorities in Ireland, while French, Spanish and fishermen from other countries are looking on and laughing at the regime here.

This pertains to realising that a group of people exists within our society who, because of climactic and bureaucratic conditions, incur serious losses of income. However, they wish to sustain their livelihoods and their coastal communities because they have done so for generations. As the lady who wrote the e-mail stated, when they hit bad times they want a leg up and not a handout. Moreover, they do not wish to incur the bureaucratic nightmare that relates to fisheries policy. However, they want to see put in place a realistic mechanism that would assist them through, if one pardons the pun, choppy waters. During times when crewmen and women are not bringing in catches and their incomes are being seriously depleted — they are deemed to be self-employed — they should not be obliged to go cap in hand to the local community welfare officer to beg to supplement their income. A form of tax incentive or tax break could be put in place on the basis they are sustaining communities in coastal regions. Moreover, the Government should consider a form of social welfare mechanism to assist such men and women on the basis that their income fluctuates between one end of the year and the other, that would not necessarily be breaking EU direct aid rules.

I ask the Chair to let me know when I have spoken for four minutes. I am anxious about the other Members——

Johnny Brady (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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Less than two minutes remains to the Deputy.

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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In his contribution, the Minister of State told Members about the saga of illegal, unreported and unregulated, IUU, fishing and that the Luxembourg meeting will take place on 23 June. Is the European Union serious about tackling the issue of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing? Short of stating and acknowledging the problem, is the Government going into that meeting with a serious view on this problem? It seems it is costing Irish and other European Union fishermen billions of euro annually because of the international nature of the problem. This matter must be taken up at the WTO. It must be taken up seriously at Irish level because it is taking food from the mouths of fishermen and is having an impact on a sector of our economy and society that could do very well, were this problem targeted in an effective manner.

Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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I thank the Chair for providing Members with the opportunity to discuss this critical issue. The Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Deputy Brendan Smith, and the Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food with responsibility for fisheries and forestry, Deputy Tony Killeen, are aware of my high opinion of both of them as representatives. However, their performance on this matter in the past month has been incredibly disappointing and lethargic. They must be far more proactive.

I read today that President Sarkozy, without reference to the European Union, came forward with a package of measures worth more than €100 million for his fishing community, which is only about twice the size of ours. Apparently President Sarkozy can come forward unilaterally with a major plan that does not run into problems on EU aids and that will be approved by the European Commission. At the height of this crisis, when diesel prices went up in a matter of months, our Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food seemed to disappear. We did not know who the Minister was or where he was.

Like other colleagues, I have received very poignant complaints from many people over the last few weeks. A young man, a neighbour of mine with three small children, has tried to run two boats and employed 12 men in Howth over the last few years, but he has been tied up for the last six weeks. He does not know what is going to happen and does not know the future for himself, his family and his employees and their families. That is a large community. The Minister and Minister of State have to get real and become much more proactive about a very important area of our economy.

I tried to raise this issue over the past few weeks by putting down parliamentary questions about it and raising it under Standing Order 32. There have been rapidly dropping returns on wages, in some cases to virtually nothing, and there is a total despair gripping communities along the coast, be they in Greencastle, Burtonport, Rossaveal, Dingle, Castletownbere, Union Hall, Dunmore East, Kilmore Quay, Clogherhead or Howth. They are not happy with what they have heard from the European Union, which was essentially a pig in a poke, with no cast iron assurances on funding for tie ups or supports for the marketing of the industry.

Last year we saw the publication of the Cawley report, and it is true that we needed to set a new course. We needed to be much more proactive. As people from the Killybegs Fishermen's Organisation said to me so often, we wanted to look at our fishing industry and our coastal communities as a sunrise situation and not a sunset. We do not want to look at it as the tail of the dog and the industry that can be safely ignored. The Cawley report suggested a €600 million investment in the industry for marketing and other assists, as well as decommissioning supports in areas where there was over-fishing. However, we are still waiting for that.

I welcome the fact Mr. Jason Whooley has been appointed to head a new organisation to deal with all this, but we have had examples of similar organisations for a long time, such as Seafood Scotland. We have had very little action from this Government on the issue. One of the reasons the Government deserved not to be re-elected was its horrendous treatment of the fishing industry over the last four or five years.

The skyrocketing increase in fuel prices is unprecedented. Representatives of Gazprom have spoken about €250 per barrel. We need to see some action on fuel duties and supports for fuels to ensure the whole fleet does not end up being tied up for good. We have had problems with the high levels of imported fish from south-east Asia and Africa, as well as problems with the Spanish and the French fleets. The price fishermen receive is just a fraction of the price the consumer pays at the end of the day. We had the debate last week on Europe, and I am one of those who still believes we need to examine the Common Fisheries Policy. I support colleagues who stated that the Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority seems to be able to target Irish boats and fishermen very easily and effectively ignore other boats. That was put on the record of the last Dáil when the Commodore of the Naval Service came before the joint committee. It seemed to be a question of picking on our own because they were so much easier to track down, while the foreigners could do what they liked.

We need an urgent set of measures and we need to get real. The Minister and the Minister of State should announce a strong and supportive programme, otherwise we will soon have no fishing industry.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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I am grateful to my colleagues for allowing me to speak on an issue that is of profound importance to this country, especially to the people of its coastal areas. I want to speak on behalf of my community in County Wexford, especially the fishing village of Kilmore Quay and right across the southern coast to Ballyhack and other places.

It is clear that Ireland has had an extraordinary boom over the last 15 to 20 years. Most sectors of our community have blossomed and thrived in that period. There are colder winds now and there is belt tightening and anxiety. However, what is happening to the fishing industry and to fishing communities is unprecedented in my time in this House. I have never seen the devastation of a whole community as I have witnessed recently. Problems are now arising for hard working people who take their lives in their hands to provide this nation with fish. They cannot simply earn a living at present. What has happened is immoral and wrong and a number of things need to be done.

I have the greatest respect for the newly appointed Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, but the truth is that agriculture is a full-time job. We need a Cabinet rank marine Minister to recognise the scale of the issues to be addressed in our coastal zones and find solutions. It is not good enough to say the pass was sold in the early 1970s. The deal we got when joining the Common Market in 1972 did not focus on fisheries. We put all our eggs in the basket of agriculture, while the fisheries industry was abandoned. We got a bad deal for fisheries back then, but we need a decent deal now if those communities are to survive.

It has been said the fuel issue is the last straw, which it is. However, fishermen know they cannot make a living from fishing under the current regime. The notion of catching fish, letting it die on board and then dumping it for fear of being pursued by a fisheries inspector for a criminal offence is unconscionable. It does not happen elsewhere and it should not happen in this country.

We need to have a Cabinet ranked Minister for fisheries. We need a clear plan to help people who are desperate right now. I spoke to a fisherman in my constituency when I was canvassing for the Lisbon treaty. He showed me coal in the boot of his car that he trawled up while fishing and told me that he brings it home to put on the fire in order to save money on fuel. That is the extent of the pressure. I am dealing with banks about the foreclosure of mortgages and I am dealing with people who cannot pay their ESB bills. I hope the Minister and the Minister of State understand that of all the people under pressure right now in Ireland, none is under greater pressure than the fishing communities. The House needs to show solidarity with them through taking exceptional measures that I hope will flow from this debate.

Martin Ferris (Kerry North, Sinn Fein)
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While the factor that has led to the current crisis in fishing and the decision to hold this debate is the impact of fuel cost increases, it is in reality the culmination of 35 years of deliberate mismanagement and neglect. Nor is it a coincidence that attention is being paid to this issue a week after the Irish people voted to reject any further surrender of power over our affairs to Brussels. If there was ever an example of an aspect of Irish life that has suffered from EU bureaucracy, it is the fishing sector. That was not lost by Irish coastal communities when they went to vote last Thursday. All our coastal communities in Kerry, Mayo, Galway, Donegal, north-east Dublin, Louth, Wexford, Waterford and west Cork decisively rejected the treaty.

We have recently seen Irish fishermen engaged in a series of protests from handing out free fish to massing in the bigger ports. The actions of people who are at the end of their tether and for whom the 40% increase in fuel costs, which means that many of them are operating at a loss, threatens to be the straw that breaks the camel's back. I commend the fishermen right across this island on their courage, determination and reasonableness. They did not embark lightly on the decision to block the ports, but they did it in a very respectful manner and allowed the Government an opportunity to negotiate to try to alleviate the situation.

However, this is only one in a long series of straws. Irish fishermen have been driven to the wall by successive attempts to scale down the sector here by all sorts of means, which are increasingly restrictive and unpredictable. The quota has been cut, the number of fishing days was reduced and legislation was introduced to criminalise fishermen despite the overwhelming opposition of the fisheries committee. All this added to the perception that the weight of the policing of fisheries has fallen on Irish fishermen rather than foreign fleets. That is encapsulated in the fact that Irish fishermen were arriving back to port to be inspected by shore based fisheries staff who until recently had not the means to go to sea to monitor foreign boats. This is akin to a supermarket employing security staff to wait outside someone's house until he or she comes home with the shopping while giving the shoplifters free range.

Someone remarked recently on the popularity of small fish in Spain where they are considered a great delicacy. These are fish that could only have been caught illegally within EU waters. It hardly takes a genius to figure out where many if not most of these illegal catches come from. More than all these things, which are merely the straws threatening to break the camel's back, the current crisis is the direct result of decades of mismanagement and neglect, dating from the surrender of our fisheries to Brussels in 1973.

We have heard much about what we have received from the EU in CAP and Structural Fund payments but very little of the fact that other EU states have taken much more than that in the value of fish taken from Irish waters and more importantly the loss to the Irish economy this represents. The 2004 estimate of the catch by the Irish fleet in waters around our coast indicated that it amounted to 15% of total fish caught. Within the area under EU jurisdiction it was only 28%. It is the equivalent of having 85% of our agricultural land in the hands of foreign landowners who export it raw to their own countries without one cent of benefit to the Irish people, a situation that pertained in Ireland with land until the Land War of the 1880s forced them off the backs of the Irish people. In the same year it was estimated by the Marine Institute that the value of the catch in surrounding waters was €800 million, of which €460 million was taken in the EU zone. The institute stated, however, that the value of international landings was most likely an underestimate. Indeed, it could be more accurately described as a guess.

Combined with the fact that this does not take into account the level of illegal fishing by foreign vessels, believed to be at least a third of the legal catch, and the fact that by 2004 the level of fishing had shown a steep decline from earlier years, we are talking about billions of euro of fish in today's values being taken from our waters by non-Irish vessels. That is only the unprocessed value and does not take into account the value and opportunities lost to a domestic processing and export sector had successive Governments since the foundation of the State not neglected the fishing industry and then surrendered it to Brussels.

There are no reliable figures, not least because very few want to face up to the grim reality. In 2004, however, the EU's statistical agency EUROSTAT, provided figures that showed that the accumulated processed value of fish taken in Irish waters between 1974 and 2004 was approximately €200 billion. In the same period we received €40 billion in total transfer funds, including CAP and Structural Fund payments.

Some 40% of edible fish within the EU is caught in Irish waters and Irish fishermen are entitled to catch only a small proportion of that. What sense does that make? Lest anyone think that Sinn Féin and others have only being saying this of late, we made the same point in 1972 and indeed it was discussed in the United Irishman newspaper in the early 1960s when the vast potential offered by the fishing industry was pointed out. There is a marked difference between the neglect of the industry here and how the Norwegians built a thriving economy on fisheries before they discovered oil. While they were building a thriving domestic processing and export industry and turning what was regarded as one of the most underdeveloped countries in Europe into a prosperous nation, we were failing to invest or include fishing as part of the plans for economic development.

Then when its value was recognised by EU bureaucrats, when Ireland was in the process of joining the EEC in the early 1970s, someone decided it would be a good idea to basically hand it over. On RTE's "Seascapes" website there is an interesting report on the programme maker's visit to Spain:

The extent of their fishing/seafood industry shows what we have lost by the inane stupidity of successive Irish Governments. The most culpable are those who negotiated away our fishing rights and on whom a heavy burden of blame should rest. We have lost economically and socially as a result.

We are paying the price to the present day. Maybe at last we will recognise this, something that is privately admitted even by officials within the sector, and demand that the disastrous Common Fisheries Policy is completely overhauled. If it is not and if we are content to allow the EU to dictate the future of our fisheries, all that awaits the industry is a slow death. If the Government is merely going to tinker around and hope that a temporary solution to the current crisis can be averted, it would do just as well to allow the fuel costs to take their toll and let the fishermen go to the wall because that is the inevitable consequence of the way the sector is being managed at the present time.

I want, also, to refer to the huge anger that exists among fishermen and their families, and indeed the entire coastal communities, regarding attempts to criminalise them. An entire section of the Criminal Justice Act is devoted to fishermen. It includes sections allowing fisheries protection officers to enter private homes and seize documents and computers. No other profession or trade in the State has been given such attention. This is a State where unregulated private airports and private aeroplanes have been at the centre of massive drug importations. It is good to see that the former Minister had his priorities right.

If that was not sufficient, the former Minister used the word "traitors" to describe those he claimed were the target of the legislation. In reality, the only traitors in the true sense of the word were those who bargained and sold our fisheries in 1972. They betrayed Irish fishermen and the Irish people.

In 2006 we had the Sea Fisheries Bill which introduced criminal penalties on fishermen. It was opposed in this Chamber and in committee by Deputies on all sides, but of course Government Deputies and the Independents who supported them meekly supported the Bill when it came to a vote. A shameful act was done by Members of this House and the Sea Fisheries Bill in criminalising decent hard-working people who risk their lives on a daily basis for their communities and families.

The demonisation and criminalisation was wrong. We argued on Committee Stage and in the Chamber that ministerial sanction was the way to go for lighter offences. However, the then Minister decided he was going to have his way and proceeded with this form of criminalisation.

In the Minister of State's speech he mentioned the objectives of the producers, fishermen, wholesalers, distributors and processors to ensure the markets supplied are fully aware of the communities from which Irish fishermen supply the domestic market, and I welcome that. We need to see the unification of all sectors, not just fishermen and producers. By doing this, we can maximise the value of catches to fishermen and control seafood imports that are undermining our native industry. I have been informed reliably that scallops from Peru are being imported every week through Cork Airport. This use of Ireland as a backdoor into the EU means these scallops are being sold as Irish with no labelling to suggest the opposite.

The Minister referred to decommissioning of the fishing fleet which I believe is a terrible indictment of the State. People are being put out of their livelihoods, not just the boat-owners but the skippers and the crews. Decommissioning will mean nothing to the skippers and crews. They will be dependent on the boat-owner as to whether they receive any compensation. Many of these men have been fishing since they were 20 years of age. They now find themselves in their 60s, knowing no other skill but fishing. They will receive no redundancy package or any compensation. I hope the Minister will not forget this aspect.

The kernel of the problem in the fishing sector is the lack of an adequate quota. There is no political will to tackle the EU to gain a sufficient quota to enable our fishing industry to survive and prosper. I am not satisfied enough is being done in that regard. It is to easy to claim it cannot be renegotiated but it can be, the very same as we will renegotiate the Lisbon treaty. If we do not, what is left of our coastal communities will be destroyed. They were once vibrant communities but now they are in a most depressed state.

It took guts and courage for the fishing sector to blockade the ports recently to secure a debate in the Dáil. These statements would not have been taken if the fishermen had not done so. I applaud them for it. I stand with them because they have taken the right approach to getting a meeting with the Minister and Minister of State. I hope the fishermen will not have to blockade ports again to get justice. They are entitled to justice, the same as anyone else. They were betrayed and sold out by the State and the then Government in 1973 when Ireland entered the EEC. Their industry was compromised for other interests. They deserve the recognition and entitlements that every other citizen enjoys.

Seán Connick (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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I wish to share time with Deputy Calleary.

Deputies:

Is that agreed? Agreed.

Seán Connick (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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I am glad to have the opportunity to address the crisis faced by the fishermen of Ireland, and of my county, Wexford. On 19 May I was invited to a public meeting at Kilmore Quay with more than 40 fishermen and fisherwomen to discuss the biggest crisis they have ever faced. Several issues were brought to my attention.

The fishermen are concerned with the price of fuel which makes it impossible to cover fleet expenses. Fuel costs have increased by over 320% in the past five years, 40% alone since January. They ask for the Common Fisheries Policy to be urgently reviewed to allow proper management of Irish fisheries. The CFP, they claim, has not protected our waters and is most harsh on Irish fishermen who have unworkable quotas. The EU allows fish to be imported into its market while we cannot sell our own.

They want the repeal of the Sea-Fisheries and Maritime Jurisdiction Act 2006 which makes criminals of fishermen for fisheries offences. They also want the over-policing and over-regulation of the industry by the Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority and the Naval Service, while foreign vessels, according to them, fish unhindered, to be examined. The final issue they raised concerned decommissioning of trawlers and what it will mean for fishermen who are not boat-owners. What packages will be made available to them?

At the meeting I was given an example of the square-up. The majority of fishermen are share fishermen, meaning their wages are based on the share of the catch landed. The square-up system awards skippers and crew who do well with catches. However, it can vary wildly; if a boat does not go to sea, there are no wages.

In 2004, the landing of 235 boxes of fish from seven days at sea would be valued at €25,986. From this the crew would share 41%, which came to €7,000. The skipper cleared €1,615; the deckhands, €1,000. If this is compared with today's prices, the equivalent catch would yield €20,741 with the crew's share reduced to €2,419. This would leave the skipper and the deck-hands with a third of their 2004 income, €559 and €372, respectively. No family can sustain themselves, let alone pay a mortgage, on that level of income. This is a wage earned after spending seven days at sea.

The Kilmore Quay fishermen also raised the discard. With half the world starving, discarding catches is a scandal, raising moral questions. I cannot understand why fishermen cannot land the discard and log it. The Ministers could address this in their meetings with our European colleagues.

Deputy Broughan made a blatant attack on the recently appointed Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Deputy Brendan Smith, and the Minister of State, Deputy Killeen. I, however, commend them and acknowledge their, and their predecessors, efforts. Following my meeting in Kilmore Quay on 19 May, on 21 May a meeting, chaired by the Acting Chairman, was held in Agriculture House where these issues were raised. A special meeting was convened for the following week. On 28 May, the Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority was brought before the Oireachtas committee. The following day, 29 May, a special meeting was held between the two Ministers and the Federation of Irish Fishermen. Two weeks later a subsequent nine-hour meeting was held. Both Ministers attended a European Summit meeting in Strasbourg yesterday. These are commendable efforts.

It is important the House fully supports them in their efforts to deliver a vital deal for our fishermen to ensure the industry's survival. I wish them every success in their ongoing work to protect and grow the Irish fishing industry. I ask them to address the difficulties over which Ireland has control. It must also include the implementation of the national strategic plan, an amendment to Sea-Fisheries and Maritime Jurisdiction Act 2006 and dedicated funding for our coastal communities. At a time of crisis in the fishing industry, we must stand with our fishermen, their families and communities to ensure the survival of this much-needed industry for Ireland.

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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As an island, our nation's character is defined by our relationship with the sea. Fishing in our coastal communities is an integral part of our island and community life. Members have spoken of the battering the fishermen have taken for some time. I endorse Deputy Connick's comments on the efforts made by the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Deputy Smith, and the Minister of State, Deputy Killeen, since they were appointed. It must also be acknowledged their predecessors laid much of the groundwork for them. The time they have given to this issue, particularly considering how recently they were appointed, is a good sign. The ministerial team will have my full support.

The issues have been dealt with but we must identify solutions. It is unbelievable that in these times of healthy eating the promotion of fish as a health food is slipping. The marketing fund for fish promotion needs to be increased. We need to change whatever rules on branding need to be changed and we need to sell the benefits of fish as a health food. We need to ensure people realise the fish they are buying comes from Irish waters, is healthy and is supporting local communities. The increase in the number of organic markets around the country is testimony that people are willing to support local produce. With proper branding, there is no reason Irish wild seafood should not be popular.

The functions of the protection agency need to be reviewed or at least the manner in which it carries out those functions. The agency gives an impression of authority and arrogance and this was addressed at the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Fisheries and Food a few weeks ago. At a time when there are so many other pressures on fishermen, we could do without such an attitude. The agency needs to adopt a more co-operative attitude when dealing with fishing communities.

The recent announcement by the Minister for Community, Gaeltacht and Rural Affairs, Deputy Ó Cuív, of the new rural investment fund which will be expended through the Leader programme, is timely. As Leader plans are currently being finalised around the country, specific attention should be given to fishing communities in relevant Leader plans and funding should be targeted specifically at those communities. Investment could be targeted at infrastructure, retraining, marketing or tourism promotion. It would be a shame if in the current climate the opportunity to influence those Leader plans were to be lost. I ask that the Ministers engage with Deputy Ó Cuív's Department and with the local development companies around the country to ensure such attention.

The former Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, the Tánaiste, Deputy Mary Coughlan, initiated a review of the 2006 legislation which has caused so much anger and hurt in the fishing communities. They are being branded as criminals for doing a job that comes naturally to them. We need to complete that review as soon as possible and ensure the issues are dealt with while still retaining laws to protect the fishermen from their more dodgy colleagues, as it were.

There are still issues associated with the taxation of the drift-net scheme. Those issues have been accentuated in light of the different taxation treatment of the decommissioning scheme. Fishermen who had no option but to give up drift-net fishing for salmon were taxed on the compensation and some have yet to be advised on the applicable rate. I ask that attention be paid to this issue and to communicating with people. We are in the tax year in which money is due to be paid on the drift-net scheme.

As Deputy after Deputy has said, it is absolutely criminal in this day of food shortages and starvation that the discard scheme is allowed to continue. Deputy Connick's solution which is to allow them to land that fish and log it as discard but allow it into the food chain, is necessary. It is even more ludicrous that we have to ask for this to be done in this day and age.

I wish the Ministers well next week. Their work to date will stand to them. I hope the decisions made last week will not hinder that work in finding a good deal for Irish fishermen. I have complete faith in their ability to do so.

Tom Sheahan (Kerry South, Fine Gael)
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I wish to share time with Deputy McHugh.

This is the first time I have heard it stated that the €42 million for decommissioning was "wholly inadequate". The Minister's predecessor was glorying in the fact that €42 million had been set aside for decommissioning and the current Minister has admitted this amount is wholly inadequate. I agree with the Minister that the amount is wholly inadequate. The Minister may correct me if I am wrong but I am led to believe his initial discussions with Europe regarding putting a package together for the fishermen has proven far from successful. Deputy Broughan noted that the French ministry has put €100 million into a fund for its fishing industry. I understand the Minister has been advised by Europe that he can put a fund in place but from his own resources and not from Europe. I hope I am wrong but if I am correct I hope the Minister will take it upon himself to put the fund in place for fishermen.

Many issues need to be dealt with for the long-term survival of the fishing industry. We need to sort out the fishing industry now because the long-term viability of the fishing industry will not be an issue in a matter of months because it will be gone. The tie-up is the only solution package that could be put in place to help fishermen immediately. Illegal, unreported, unregulated fishing off the Irish and Scottish coasts has a value of €7 billion, an unbelievable figure, considering the world-wide figure is supposed to be €10 billion.

The Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority attended a recent meeting of the joint committee. Its budget is €15 million and it has 70 staff. I asked the delegation that day whether the authority had a boat. They answered that the Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority did not have a boat. They wait on the shore. I describe them as they were described to me by fishermen, as Ninjas. A fishermen docked at port one evening and four fisheries officers from the authority ganged up on him. He described them as Ninjas. Each had their own four-wheel drive vehicle but they do not have a boat to go out and catch anyone fishing illegally on our shores. They leave that to the Naval Service. When I asked them how many boats had they boarded, they did not answer. I suspect they did not board any boats which the Naval Service had boarded.

Several Deputies referred to discards. The figure of anywhere from 31% to 90% discards in the west of Ireland and Scotland is crazy. A communication on discards was adopted in 2007. This was a policy to reduce unwanted by-catches and discards in European fisheries. What were the consequences of this policy?

Licensing is an issue that needs to be resolved sooner rather than later. I also refer to labelling of Irish fish products. I support the Acting Chairman's call in his contribution for a dedicated Front Bench senior Minister for fisheries. Currently, the fisheries brief is spread over three Departments. I suggest it be co-ordinated under one senior ministry to ensure a secure, long-term industry.

Joe McHugh (Donegal North East, Fine Gael)
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I welcome both Ministers and the Department officials. This discussion and its timing are of critical importance as the industry continues to fight against the tide, if I may be excused the pun, of negativity and disillusionment throughout the industry.

The e-mail to which Deputies Creed and Sherlock referred encapsulated a plethora of issues within the industry. If there is one element which stabs at the heart of the fishing industry, it is the criminalisation of the industry. If the Minister has sat in a room for nine hours with fishermen, this issue would have been at the forefront of discussion. People in the industry do not want to be condoning the fact they want to break laws but they want addressed the simple matter of a fisherman who fails to register a catch by making a telephone call upon entering a port who can be taken to court the following morning. That is an example of how extreme and disastrous is the scheme. Criminalisation stabs the industry in the heart. This issue must be addressed and it can be addressed in national legislation.

Ireland has 25% of EU waters. We have got consistently bad deals from Europe. I will not take this opportunity to make recriminations, apportion blame or remember when mistakes were made. Despite Ireland having 25% of EU waters, when I go to restaurants in Donegal proprietors tell me they do not know if fish will be available to them in the long term. In coastal areas restaurateurs are fearful of being unable to maintain fish on their menus. That is a disgrace.

We must expedite the €20 million tie-up scheme. We must also be very cautious regarding the mistakes we made with regard to the decommissioning scheme. Deckhands, skippers and mates were not included in the decommissioning scheme. If there is to be a tie-up scheme we must ensure that they are included in the package.

A sea fisheries Bill is proposed for 2008. We have an opportunity to retrain fishermen, deckhands, skippers and first mates and make them officers of the merchant navy. I accept that this does not come within the remit of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and crosses to the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. Nevertheless, some interdepartmental initiative must deal with the retraining of fishermen who are currently idle.

I welcome the fact that the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the Minister of State are taking this matter seriously and that the Minister, Deputy Smith, is in the House for this debate on a Thursday afternoon with the Minister of State, Deputy Killeen. Deputies on the Government side have referred to the good work the Minister and Minister of State are doing. However, we have made a fundamental mistake with regard to the fishing community. The lack of political leadership has allowed a vacuum to develop. While I do not propose to take a swipe at departmental officials, fishermen have felt that the Department has been running the fishing industry for the past decade. This is not good enough. The fishing industry requires political leadership and accountability to fishermen. A single person must take charge of the industry, which has been rocked to the core for a decade. I ask the Minister to continue with what he is doing. Coastal communities need guidance and they need someone to take charge. This has been missing for many years.

Pat Gallagher (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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The mere fact that we are meeting today, giving Deputies from all sides an opportunity to take part in the debate, is an indication of the seriousness of the situation in which the fishing industry finds itself. The Minister and Minister of State, shortly after their appointment, met the Federation of Irish Fishermen, FIF, and made themselves fully au fait with the difficulties. The fact that they met in Athlone for nine hours demonstrates how seriously both sides view the situation.

I would like to talk about the long-term future of the industry. However, we do not have time for that today, nor does the industry have time. If we do not overcome the short-term issues we will not need to think about the industry in the long term. I will not spend time talking about the national development plan and the €42 million it allocates to the fishing industry. There will be no necessity to spend much of that money, aside from decommissioning, if we do not deal with the short-term problems.

I indicated my views on the important issues to the Minister some weeks ago. We should avail of the temporary tie-up aid, which is provided for in the European Fisheries Fund. We need a major initiative to increase the price of fish, controls on fish coming from outside the EU and marketing regulation.

People from Donegal and other maritime counties realise more than most the importance of the fishing industry because coastal areas have no alternative source of employment. The issue of drift-net fishing should be revisited.

I am glad the Sea Fisheries and Maritime Jurisdiction Act 2006 has been mentioned. I hope I will be proven right in my view that it is ludicrous to bring criminal charges for minor offences. We often blame Brussels but in this case Brussels tells us we should have administrative sanctions. However, a change in this legislation would not alleviate the serious situation in which we find ourselves. The issues of discards and administrative sanctions must be dealt with.

I compliment the Minister, Deputy Smith, and the Minister of State, Deputy Killeen. I believe the full support of all Members will go with them to the Council of Ministers next week. I hope they will be successful. Commissioner Borg is a reasonable man, coming from the small island of Malta. I wish the Minister and Minister of State well and thank them for the interest they are taking in this matter. We will all, and particularly those involved in the fishing industry, anxiously await their return.

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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I thank all Members who contributed to this debate on the very important issues facing the fishing sector and who made positive contributions, including yourself, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle.

One of the very strong messages from the debate is that discards are a huge problem. The Minister of State, Deputy Killeen set down, in detail, the complex issues surrounding this issue, which is global. Yesterday, we had detailed discussions with the Commissioner. I am convinced he is committed to finding a solution and the Minister of State and I are committed to working with the industry, Commissioner Borg and other member states to press ahead with the agreed action plan adopted by the EU Fisheries Commission in June 2007.

Deputy Creed referred to the mismanagement of fish quotas. Quotas are managed with the involvement of the fishing industry. For white fish quotas, the Department meets the industry every month and the industry recommends a quota regime for the following month. Industry recommendations are implemented at least 95% of the time. The industry decides when quotas are caught and how much can be caught. These are the people who have the knowledge and experience to make these decisions. For small quotas, the industry must decide whether to allow a by-catch during the year or a directed fishery when markets are strong. This is not an easy choice but the industry must make decisions. This year, the industry decided on a relatively open fishery for the early part of the year and we are facing closures now. However, we must be advised by the industry. I want to continue with that regime.

The two initiatives on markets for research announced by the Minister of State are very important and have been welcomed by the industry. Both an Bord Iascaigh Mhara and the Marine Institute have substantial budgets. In the Estimates, the agencies are given an over all grant and, like all State agencies, must decide priorities. These two initiatives are, clearly, priorities and we expect that any resources needed will be prioritised by the agencies. However, in both cases much of the work needed will not cost money. On marketing initiatives, the main issue is to get vessel owners, wholesalers, processors and retailers working together to co-ordinate and support their joint activities and maximise the returns for all.

The research partnership is exactly that. We need better science, and the involvement of fishermen will achieve this. One of the messages coming to us is that the huge resource of knowledge which is in the fishing community is not often reflected in scientific analysis. Working together is very important.

Deputy McHugh raised the issue of training crew for the merchant navy and the impact of decommissioning on crew members. He suggested that crew should be retrained to allow them to take jobs in the merchant navy. BIM is working with the marine survey office of the Department of Transport to ensure fishermen and skippers have the best possible opportunities to transfer into the merchant navy.

I believe Deputy Tom Sheahan, in his introductory remarks, took the Minister of State up wrongly. Deputy Killeen did not say that €42 million is inadequate for decommissioning. This provision will suffice to meet most of the current demand from eligible applicants for decommissioning. What the Minister of State said was that the total allocation to Ireland from the European fisheries fund for the period 2007 to 2013 is inadequate. This is a completely different point and one which needs to be clarified. We raised this issue with the Commissioner in strong terms yesterday.

Deputies referred to cod in the Celtic Sea. Earlier this year, the research institutes of France, Britain and Ireland made a scientific submission to the European Commission advising that the scientific state of the stock was sufficient to justify an increase in the catch. The consideration of the scientific submission did not reach the same conclusion and the issue has been the subject of ongoing bilateral discussions with the Commission. We raised this issue as a priority at yesterday's meeting and the Commissioner has undertaken to come back to us following consultation with his scientific experts and working with the data Britain, France and Ireland submitted to the Commission.

We are conscious of the serious difficulties facing the fishing sector. We know from Deputies, including members of the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party with whom we speak regularly, and from our meetings with the Federation of Irish Fishermen and individual members of the fishing community that the sector faces serious issues. I assure the House that the Government, through me, the Minister of State and our officials, is determined to work with the industry to overcome these difficulties. We want to build a sustainable industry which will continue to provide worthwhile employment.

Deputy Howlin and other Members put the issue of discards in colourful terms. There is something wrong when good food is being dumped instead of being put to good use by people. While this is a complicated issue, it is one we firmly placed on the agenda when we informed Commissioner Borg that we want radical improvements made in this area.