John Halligan (Waterford, Independent)
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To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Questions Nos. 521 and 522 of 4 December 2012, when a decision will be made in relation the potential inclusion of Dunmore East Harbour, County Waterford, under the 2013 Fishery Harbour and Coastal Infrastructure Capital Development Programme; if he will confirm where Dunmore East Harbour sits in relation to other competing priorities; if his attention has been drawn to factors (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56183/12]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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My Department administers the fishery harbour and coastal infrastructure capital development programme every year. Dunmore East fishery harbour centre is one of the six designated fishery harbour centres which are owned, managed and maintained by my Department and, as such, it receives funding annually on foot of the programme.

My Department continues to support the harbour's development with funding provided for maintenance, development and upgrading works each year. Indeed, expenditure under the programme for Dunmore East since 2007 has been in the order of €4 million. This is in recognition of the valuable contribution the harbour makes to the fishing industry as well as the local community in terms of the support the harbour infrastructure provides to the development of the tourism industry and the local economy generally.

Dunmore East fishery harbour centre provides a dedicated and essential service to our fishing fleet. Both local and visiting fishing vessels, including vessels of significant dimensions, avail of the harbour facilities at Dunmore East. I am happy to report the investment in Dunmore East fishery harbour centre in recent years is bearing fruit. Indeed, the Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority's records indicate a year-on-year increase in fish landings in recent years.

My Department's officials host a harbour users' forum regularly and meet with local stakeholders and harbour users. This forum provides a platform for harbour users to air their views and gives my officials an opportunity to hear at first hand the concerns and suggestions of the people using the harbour facilities. As recently as July of this year, the Dunmore East tourism group, which plays an active part in the harbour users' group, formally complimented both the appearance of the harbour and the good work being done there by my Department.

The need for dredging works at the harbour has been recognised by my Department. Reports commissioned have indicated that 80% of the harbour sediment contains tributyltin, TBT. Unfortunately, the cost associated with the disposal of dredge is approximately €5 million. This is a figure we cannot afford immediately but I am conscious of the need to dredge the harbour. We are examining the best way of dealing with this as safely as we can given our budgetary constraints. The total harbours budget this year was €7 million and the cost of cleaning Dunmore East is €5 million. The Deputy can understand the difficulties I have.

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This represents a significant expenditure in the current economic environment and I can confirm that my Department's engineering division has engaged consultants to examine and report on a number of alternative options in terms of the structuring of the works and the outlay involved. I expect to have the report in early 2013 and will assess at that stage how best to proceed.

Future investment at Dunmore East and the five other fishery harbour centres will of course be considered each year in the context of available Exchequer funding and overall national priorities. In early 2013, I expect to be in a position to identify projects for inclusion under the 2013 fishery harbour and coastal infrastructure capital development programme at each of the six fishery harbour centres.

John Halligan (Waterford, Independent)
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Twenty-five years ago, up to 50 fishing boats worked out of Dunmore East employing hundreds of fishermen, with hundreds more employed in fish-processing plants around the harbour. Over the past decade, however, this long-established fishing industry has been under threat from restrictions designed to protect stocks. The local fishermen's co-operative is struggling enormously with EU fish quota restrictions, an aging fishing fleet and poor fish prices caused by low demand due to the recession. As fishing vessels become more technologically demanding, additional pressure has been put on resources and infrastructure. Reduced catches put pressure on employment in the processing sector. Several fish factories have already closed in Dunmore East over the past four years.

Dunmore East Harbour is suffering from inadequate infrastructure to address its potential needs. No dredging of the harbour has taken place for 17 years. Consequently, larger vessels cannot access the harbour. Silting has reduced the depth of the approach under the synchrolift. Despite the fact that it has a lifting capacity of 200 tonnes, it is only suitable for vessels with a maximum draft of about nine feet. Hence, many vessels have to divert to Cork or Howth for docking. This poor access has had a devastating impact on the local fishing fleet.

Since the recession hit, several hotels and restaurants in Dunmore East have closed. There is a significant scarcity of work and little or no investment in local industry. It is well recognised that the average income in the fishing village is below the national average. The local community has suffered significantly in the past several years, with a 12% decline in population. Without a properly functioning harbour, we may as well close down Dunmore East.

Peter Mathews (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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There is only one minute left.

John Halligan (Waterford, Independent)
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Will the Minister reconsider dredging the harbour there? Although he has acknowledged in the past that dredging works in Dunmore East are a priority, it is not possible to wait another five years for this to happen.

Peter Mathews (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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This will have to be just a headline answer as there is only half a minute left.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The reality is that nothing can be done if one does not have the money. We have taken on consultants to examine the options-----

John Halligan (Waterford, Independent)
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The harbour has a turnover of €10 million and we are asking for a €4 million investment which could increase that turnover and, in turn, bring more money into the Exchequer.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy is asking for more than half of my total harbours fund. I simply do not have it. If I had the money, I would be spending it on this. This is one of the harbours that has priority when it comes to dredging investment.

Fish landings at Dunmore East are actually increasing every year. Quotas are significantly up this year and it is my job to negotiate another good deal on the quotas next week. The stocks of cod, haddock, whiting and herring in the Celtic Sea are all up. It is not as bad as some people make out.

I agree there is a significant problem in the harbour and it needs to be dredged. I will do it when I can afford to. In the meantime, we will have to put a plan in place to do what we can do.