Dáil debates

Wednesday, 7 October 2015

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions

Inshore Fisheries

9:50 am

Photo of Thomas PringleThomas Pringle (Donegal South West, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

3. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the progress that has been made on implementing recommendation No. 10 of the Joint Sub-Committee on Fisheries report on promoting sustainable rural coastal and island communities regarding the issuing of heritage licences; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34379/15]

Photo of Thomas PringleThomas Pringle (Donegal South West, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The question relates to the report of the Joint Sub-Committee on Fisheries on promoting sustainable rural coastal and island communities and the recommendations in that regard concerning heritage licences. Could the Minister indicate what progress has been made on the implementation of the recommendations in the report?

Photo of Simon CoveneySimon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The recommendation to which the Deputy refers requests that the Government examines the feasibility of heritage licences to be issued by the Department for rural coastal and island communities. The intended objective of such licences is, according to the report, to optimally facilitate traditional fishing practices in conjunction with the establishment of a producer organisation representing vessels under a certain length overall, LOA, in these designated areas.

With regard to representation for the rural coastal and island fishing communities, in May 2014 I announced the establishment of innovative consultative structures to bring Ireland’s inshore fishing communities into discussions on the future of Ireland’s seafood industry. In recognition of the need to take a different approach to communicating with Ireland’s small-scale coastal fishermen in view of the very low level of professional trade representation for this part of the industry, both regional and national structures have been put in place. The newly established National Inshore Fisheries Forum, NIFF, and Regional Inshore Fisheries Forums, RIFFs, provide areas for inshore fishermen to develop proposals on inshore fisheries management, including compliance and data gathering. The inshore forums are representative of the “under 12 m” fishing fleet, the fishing boats of less than 12 m overall length and their focus is on fisheries management in the coastal waters within six nautical miles.

To date, the four NIFF meetings have led to very constructive two-way conversations on issues of mutual concern, industry priorities, emerging policies and initiatives. As a result of the successful discussions with the forum, I have included NIFF members on the quota management advisory committee, the industry science fisheries partnership and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund, EMFF operational programme monitoring committee. That gives the inshore sector a role in making recommendations on the allocation of Ireland’s quotas, on data collection and scientific research and, perhaps most importantly, on how funding is utilised. The NIFF is taking the industry lead in setting priorities for the policy development for the inshore sector and recommendations from the NIFF are taken very seriously by me. If there is a view among the inshore fishing industry that we should go down such a route to try to create special licensing and conditions around the inshore fleet, we will look at that and discuss it. We are already discussing a whole series of practical things we can do to help the sector, including the development of artisan fisheries, restricting recreational potting, for example, which has been a matter of concern for years and is now being acted on for the first time, or the measure suggested by the Deputy. We will examine the matter in detail but it must be in the context of a discussion with the overall fishing industry to make sure that it will work within the context of the Common Fisheries Policy.

Photo of Michael KittMichael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I ask Members to please keep an eye on the clock. We are way over time.

Photo of Thomas PringleThomas Pringle (Donegal South West, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The question was really not about the NIFF or the RIFFs. The joint sub-committee compiled a report. It will be two years' in January since the report was published. The committee heard from a wide range of inshore fishing interests, and recommendations were made by an all-party committee of the Oireachtas. It seems to me that no discussion has been taking place within the Department. One of the recommendations called for by the inshore and island fishermen was that the committee would recommend the issuing of heritage licences, which it did. Almost two years later the Department has not done anything to examine the matter. It seems that the recommendation has not even been suggested by the Department to the inshore fisheries body to examine how the system could be developed and whether it would be feasible. Given the fact that an all-party Oireachtas committee report has recommended the approach, the Department should take it seriously.

10:00 am

Photo of Simon CoveneySimon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Department does take it seriously. It takes equally seriously the relationship it has developed with the inshore sector. There have been four meetings to date, all of which I have attended. We now have an opportunity to discuss a whole range of issues. Many of the recommendations in the Oireachtas committee's report have been acted upon and more will be acted upon. In regard to Oireachtas committee reports generally, in terms of how a Department responds to them, this one scores pretty well. There are restrictions and regulations within which we have to operate. Any new licensing system must be consistent with the new Common Fisheries Policy regulations.

The Deputy asked that the Department of rural, coastal and island communities make a decision on that, but no such Department exists. I am the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine. We will look at this, but only in the context of what is practical and real and within the parameters of the regulations within which I must operate.

Photo of Thomas PringleThomas Pringle (Donegal South West, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

As I understand it, the Common Fisheries Policy allows member states, in developing policy in this area, to give preference to coastal and rural communities and small fisheries communities. It is up to each member state to develop that policy under the Common Fisheries Policy. As inshore fisheries is not covered by the Common Fisheries Policy, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has the discretion to examine this and to devise a policy in that regard.

The Minister stated that what I am looking for is the creation of a new licensing regime. Surely the remit of the Department includes the development and protection of fishermen and rural communities. The committee's recommendation that the Department examine this issue is mild, but two years down the road it is not being actively examined.

Photo of Simon CoveneySimon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Two years down the road, it is being actively examined. That is what the Department is doing in terms of recreational fisheries, for example. We are changing that structure. We are introducing limits that will be imposed on recreational fishermen so that we can create more space for commercial fishermen. We are also expanding our V-notching programme and we have increased the compensation payments that fishermen get for putting back lobsters to improve breeding performance and so on. The Department has been working on multiple measures in terms of increasing funding and increasing the conversation, including with inshore fishermen, on policy development, budgetary decisions and quota allocation decisions in a way that they have never before been included. There has never been more interaction on a policy or funding level between the inshore sector and the Government than there is now. It would be helpful for the Deputy to recognise that.