Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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Before dealing with Question No. 2, I am giving Deputy Martin Ferris permission to question the Minister, although it is, strictly speaking, outside the rules to do so. Priority Questions are confined to spokespersons unless written permission is received in accordance with Standing Orders. I ask the Deputy to pass on this information to his party to ensure certainty in this regard.

Michael Colreavy (Sligo-North Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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Question 2: To ask the Minister for Agriculture; Fisheries and Food if he will publish details of the targets that he has set out for the Irish fishing industry in the negotiations regarding the common fisheries proposals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28143/11]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Ferris and his party for raising this issue. Deputy Pringle and others are also interested in the reply as it relates to the Common Fisheries Policy.

Rather than reading out a long answer, I will try to convey to the Deputies the elements of the reply in which they will be interested. A number of key issues arise for Ireland with regard to the Common Fisheries Policy. I propose to single out a few of them, although that may be a slight contradiction in terms. The first key issue is the concept of transferable fishing concessions, which is one of the big ideas in the current proposals on the Common Fisheries Policy. When Commissioner Damanaki visited Ireland, I spent nearly two hours discussing this issue with her to help her understand the reason the current proposal poses such a threat to the future of the Irish fishing industry. The thinking behind this concept, which would essentially privatise quotas by allowing them to be traded, is to reduce the fleet size through consolidation. Those who could afford to buy up quota from others would do so and fishing boats would be removed from the fleet, resulting in consolidation within countries and fleets. Ireland opposes this proposal, having already significantly reduced our fleet size under a recent fleet reduction programme. We do not want a consolidation of the fishing industry into two or three large ports, nor do we want to allow fishing interests from outside the country establishing a presence to buy up quota. The quota purchased would then be used by non-Irish fishing fleets and fish catches would be taken to non-Irish fishing ports. I have made clear to the Commissioner our concerns about her proposals on the transferability of fishing concessions and quotas. Ireland has taken a consistent position on this issue and has allies around Europe who share our concerns. We must keep quota in the control and management of the State to ensure it is allocated, rather than sold to the fleet, in a manner that is responsible and keeps coastal communities intact.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House

The Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) is scheduled for adoption in the latter half of 2012. This is an ambitious target and there is a strong possibility that the adoption of the new policy will be delayed and fall into 2013 during the Irish Presidency of the EU.

A reformed CFP is a critical policy issue for Ireland as it will shape the strategic blueprint for the European fishing industry for the next decade. The CFP impacts on the social, economic and environmental pillars of the wider seafood industry and the proposals will hold both opportunities and risks for Ireland.

My overarching goal for the new CFP is for a sustainable, profitable and self reliant industry that protects and enhances the social and economic fabric of rural coastal communities dependent on the seafood sector, while balancing these objectives with the need to deliver a sustainable and eco centred fisheries landscape for future generations. I am pursuing initiatives that will deliver and sustain jobs in coastal communities rather than those that promote the concentration of wealth and delivery of excessive profits for a few big international businesses.

I can broadly support the general thrust of the proposals put forward by the Commission in their proposal of 13 July on such key issues as enhanced conservation, rebuilding fish stocks, reducing discarding of fish, introducing more selective fishing gears to allow small fish and unwanted by-catches to escape and the use of multi-annual plans as a primary tool to rebuild and manage fish stocks. However, I have differing views on some key points from an Irish perspective. Subject to further negotiation on important details in respect of those issues I would expect that by the conclusion of the negotiations, I would hope to be in a position to support these important elements of the Reform proposals. Within the package there are specific issues that are of critical importance to Ireland which I will address in more detail.

I have serious concerns about the implications of the Commission's intention to impose the mandatory introduction of individually transferable concessions (quotas). Under this system, fish quotas would be allocated as tradeable commodities to private individuals and companies for at least 15 years and those individuals would be permitted to sell on the quotas.

There is serious concern in Ireland that under the current set of proposals, which the Commission has published, there is a real risk that the economic benefit from our quotas will be increasingly lost to Ireland. We fear that large European conglomerates, registering in Ireland, would buy up our quotas and increasingly land them abroad. This would cost us thousands of jobs around the coast and would starve our growing seafood processing industry of raw material. At this point, we can see no safeguards that could be built into the proposals which would prevent this happening.

In relation to discards, I fully support the objectives on addressing the unacceptable and wasteful practice of discarding as set in this proposal. The Commission proposal involves the introduction of a ban on discarding of fish which would be applied incrementally over the period 2014-16. The discarding of fish makes no sense at any level and must be ended. I believe that we need radical action to bring an end to this wasteful practice which is as abhorrent to fishermen as it is to the general public. The Commission proposal for a ban is too simplistic and is more likely to result in the concealment of the practice than a change in the behaviour. I am absolutely committed to addressing the problem in a practical and progressive manner working directly with fishermen and scientists.

The retention of the Hague Preferences is a key issue for Ireland as it gives Irish Fishermen a safety net of additional quotas when stock levels go below a certain point. In the Commission proposal, the Hague Preferences are recognised in the same manner as here to fore. Ireland sought their full integration into the CFP to avoid the current situation where there application each year is a matter for decision by the EU Fisheries Council. I will continue to pursue this approach but I am fully aware that we may face opposition for their inclusion, in any form, from those member states which lose quota when they are invoked.

In terms of the process, there is a long road to take before the reform of the CFP is finalised, many Member States will have conflicting agendas on certain issues. Commissioner Damanaki has visited Ireland and I had a good opportunity to set out Ireland's priorities and to give her a full understanding of the situation of the sector in Ireland and the likely impacts of her proposals, both positive and negative.

I have been actively building alliances with like minded colleagues in Europe. I met with my French Counterpart Minister Le Maire on 30 September and issued a joint communiqué which included a commitment to work closely on sustainability measures including discards, regionalisation and importantly on our opposition to the proposals on ITQs as they currently stand. I intend to build further alliances where possible and continue to liaise with our industry and other stakeholders to pursue and secure Ireland's priorities in a reformed CFP.

Martin Ferris (Kerry North-West Limerick, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Ceann Comhairle for the flexibility he has shown me today.

I am encouraged by the Minister's statement that he is exerting pressure on the Commissioner and building alliances on the transfer of quotas, which is a major concern across coastal communities. The lack of quota is a serious problem. It is very annoying that fishing is becoming less and less viable for many Irish fishermen. While they are unable to secure quota, some 50% of the quota in France is not taken up. The negotiations on the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy in 2013 should provide for the introduction of a mechanism to allow excess or unused national quotas to be distributed to countries such as Ireland to enable them to maintain a viable industry. In the current circumstances, where we have mass unemployment, the economy is in a bad way and the economy of coastal communities has been decimated in recent years, Sinn Féin and all coastal Deputies will give the Minister their full support if he makes the transfer of quota a priority in the forthcoming negotiations. I ask him to do so.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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On the specific issue raised by Deputy Ferris, a mechanism is in place which allows trading of quotas between countries. It is a swapping system under which my Department may negotiate and discuss with other countries the option of swapping quota for different species. While the current system facilitates these types of swaps, it does not allow countries which do not use their full whitefish quota to sell or transfer it to another country. France has the biggest whitefish quota in Irish waters and it is certainly not true to say it is not using up to 50% of that quota. My understanding is it is using practically all of its quota, this year at least. There may be individual species for which it has not filled its quota. It often seeks to swap quota and acquire by return quota for other species. I understand the Deputy's point but it is very unlikely that as quota becomes more valuable fishing fleets will not use theirs in full in the future.

The other issues concerning the Common Fisheries Policy relate to discards. I strongly support in principle what the Commissioner is trying to do in that regard although I believe her approach is flawed in that boats would be forced to land all fish caught, from 2014 to 2016, on a phased basis. The Irish approach and policy to discards will be clear. It will take fish on a stock by stock or species by species basis, looking for technical solutions. First, we will want to reduce the catch of fish currently being discarded and we need to do that proactively. In addition, we will look at ways in which we can eliminate discards entirely when and where that is possible. We must do that with the industry. Otherwise we will drive the issue underground - or underwater as would be the case.