John Minihan (Progressive Democrats)

I congratulate the Minister, the Minister of State and their officials on the results they achieved at Monday's Council of Ministers meeting in Luxembourg. It was not looking good for a while but everyone agrees that the outcome was very positive. The tactical game played was successful and no greater accolade or confirmation of the achievement can be made than the generous praise from the fishing industry itself. Despite this positive outcome, however, there is a general air of disillusionment among certain sections of the fishing industry at the moment. On several occasions during the summer, when I was on holidays in west Cork, I met fishermen who had serious issues with departmental policy. Whereas I am no expert on fishery matters, I beg the Minister of State's indulgence to pose some legitimate questions. A number of fishermen raised the delay in issuing fishing licences by the Department and I understand that some vessels that have satisfied the requirements to purchase tonnage have been tied up at piers for months. The Minister of State will appreciate that this is causing huge financial problems for owners of small and large vessels, as they still have to make loan repayments and meet other financial commitments. While I understand the licensing policy is currently being reviewed, is there any reason why run of the mill licensing transactions cannot be finalised in the short term?

I have encountered some herring fishermen who complained that their boats are outdated. Stricter market requirements on quality are forcing them out of their traditional fishery business. I fully support the need for strict quality control measures but when I inquired as to why they do not upgrade their boats, I was surprised to hear that departmental policy prevents them from doing so. The boats required are called tank boats and, while I am not an expert in this field, what I was told seems to make sense – that the market is changing and they need to change with it or they will go out of business. Will the Minister of State clarify and explain the rationale behind the non-issuance of new licences to these vessels? Are these licensing issues not being resolved because of the Minister's severe workload following the creation of the new Department? What is causing the blockage we have seen?