Thomas Pringle (Donegal South West, Independent)
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Question 25: To ask the Minister for Agriculture; Fisheries and Food if he will ensure that the marketing study carried out on fishery harbour centres particularly in relation to Killybegs fishery harbour centre County Donegal will be implemented to give Killybegs harbour the opportunity to play a vital and dynamic role in the economic regeneration of south-west Donegal where Killybegs can become a vibrant import export port, develop the offshore renewable energy sector, be a centre for marine tourism and leisure and continue to provide core and ancillary services to the fishing industry thereby providing vital jobs in an unemployment black-spot and will have little cost implications [7847/11]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Killybegs Fishery Harbour Centre is Ireland's premier fishing port. To date, in excess of €50 million has been invested in the development of the harbour by my Department. This investment has brought the harbour infrastructure and facilities up to a class leading standard.

My Department is conscious of the valuable and necessary contribution the harbour plays in the support and development of the fishing industry, together with the benefits that accrue to the local and national economies. In addition, I am aware of the potential Killybegs Fishery Harbour Centre holds for the development and growth of other industries and enterprises in the harbour area that must, of necessity, be compatible with the requirements of the fishing industry.

Mr. Kevin Bonnar, former Secretary General of the Department of Enterprise and Employment, chaired a group of key officials of State agencies to identify marketing opportunities for Killybegs. Following extensive consultations with representatives from all sectors, including fishing, commercial, educational, marine leisure and tourism, Mr. Bonnar compiled a report for the Killybegs Fishery Harbour Centre marketing strategy. The marketing strategy was launched in 2008 and set out a vision for the development of the area which includes but extends beyond the fishing industry and my Department. The report identifies many areas with potential for growth, including fishing, food processing and fish by-products, servicing the oil and gas exploration business, marine leisure and tourism and attracting cruise ships, an industry that has been growing steadily in Killybegs. Already, there are seven cruise ships booked in for this year alone.

In the following year the business plans for the development of the fishery harbour centres were launched. The business plans for the six fishery harbour centres which are owned and operated by my Department and located at Killybegs, Howth, Dunmore East, Castletownbere, Ros a Mhíl and An Daingean were drafted following an extensive consultation process.

Thomas Pringle (Donegal South West, Independent)
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I wish the Minister and the Minister of State, Deputy McEntee, well in their portfolios.

As regards the business and marketing plans, at this stage three strategies have been looking at the development of business at Killybegs Fishery Harbour Centre, at a cost of somewhere in the region of €200,000. Unfortunately, they have not been rolled out. It is vitally important that, if the centre is to play its role in the overall regeneration of Donegal South-West, the plans are implemented. While I hope Killybegs will always be the largest fisheries port in the country, opportunities abound for alternative complementary industries to develop. What is vitally needed is a willingness within the Department to facilitate their development. The business plan identified a number of barriers which could be removed without cost or expenditure implications for the Department by the creation of an atmosphere in which development would be allowed to take place. There are a number of sites available. Last year the offer of a site for a new fishmeal plant was withdrawn by the Department. Such developments are, therefore, being held back. We need a culture to develop that would allow the process to move forward. It could be very beneficial to south-west Donegal as well as nationally if the Department was to take a proactive role in ensuring this happens.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I have been to Killybegs a number of times, most recently for the by-election in which the Deputy participated, and I am very aware of the potential for development. The marine resource is underestimated by most. Killybegs Harbour can and will be at the heart of developing a more ambitious fisheries sector, with a particular focus on fish processing. We can do much there to process more fish landed by both Irish and non-Irish trawlers. It is also an obvious base for servicing oil and gas exploration businesses and offshore energy projects which will develop in an ambitious way in the next ten years. There is a platform there on which we can grow a series of industries based on their location around a harbour with the resources Killybegs has available to it and I would like to see this happen. However, any industry we develop there must be complementary to the fisheries business. A number of proposals brought forward have not been complementary. I have an open mind towards sweating the assets we have in a more ambitious way to try to encourage new thinking in Killybegs and other harbours and generate more activity and create employment, but these new activities must complement the existing businesses which have grown in these harbours and, from the perspective of Killybegs Harbour, the fishing industry in particular.