Brian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail)

This debate on the fishing industry is timely. Fisheries are one of the few natural resources available to this island. Generations of families have earned a livelihood from fishing at sea. County Donegal, with its extensive coastline, is not an exception and has many fine fishing ports, notably at Killybegs and Burtonport. Fishing activity also takes place at Arranmore Island, Magheroarty, Port na Blagh, Fanad, Downings and other areas. The fishing industry has always been vitally important to the economy of County Donegal.

This debate offers Senators an opportunity to learn, in generic terms, about the difficulties facing the fishing industry. These date back many years and are, as the Minister of State, Deputy Killeen, noted, primarily a consequence of increased fuel costs. I welcome the findings of the Cawley report on the seafood industry, a sector which generates income in excess of €700 million and provides employment for a large number of people. I also welcome the Department's role in developing the fishing industry because it is important to give confidence to the families and communities who depend on it.

Many of those living in fishing ports such as Killybegs have noted a sharp decline in the number of fishermen since the 1980s and 1990s. This reduction has arisen as a result of quota restrictions and the high costs associated with going out to sea. The Government must recognise the impact this has had on many families, not only those with members at sea but also those working in fishing ports and the factories surrounding them.

During my time working in a fish processing factory for a year after graduation, I noticed that the stock caught at sea was taken ashore and exported without the use of secondary processing. Processing activity generally involved whole-packing fish. We should consider ways of adding value to the fish stock harvested from the sea, particularly given the depletion in fisheries. For example, some of the jobs involved in packaging and exporting whole fish need to be diversified.

The role of drift net and draft net salmon fisherman is one of the most important issues to have emerged in recent years in fishing communities along the coast of County Donegal. I am referring in particular to the drift net hardship scheme which many fishermen availed of. However, other fishermen did not take up the scheme, predominantly because they wanted to continue to fish. There are fishermen on Arranmore Island who did not take up the salmon hardship scheme as a result of the decommissioning, because they believed it was their only livelihood and they did not want it taken away. There are fishermen on Inishbofin in County Donegal who equally did not take up the salmon hardship scheme. Those fishermen have come together, formed a group and made representations to the effect that the islands should be exempt from that scheme. I am not sure how realistic scientifically that is, but it should be looked at. I call today for the Department to look at the proposals put forward by the fishermen of Arranmore and Inishbofin and, if there is scope, to allow them to remain at sea for salmon fishing. However, if the Department is of the view that there is no scope for allowing them to remain at sea in the short term, they should be told this quickly, so that they may plan for the future and avail of the hardship scheme that I hope will be available to them.

The initial compensation scheme was available to the fishermen individually. Then there was a generic scheme which was made available to the communities they represented. It is important that the hardship scheme should be now rolled out to the areas affected so that tangible benefits may be seen on the ground in those places that have experienced decommissioning, namely the areas that have lost employment as a result of the cessation of the salmon fishing.

Another issue is draft net fishing on the River Foyle in County Donegal. A large number of fishermen have approached me about the way the Loughs Agency has handled the decommissioning package on the River Foyle. I understand some 40 fishermen availed of the decommissioning package. A further ten on the southern side of the River Foyle remain fishing, but about 15 fishermen were refused licences on the river. Most of these are elderly pensioners, some of whom may be ill and unable to fish, requiring the assistance of senior helpers fishing on their behalf for a short number of years. I call on the Minister of State, Deputy Michael Kitt, to inform the Department that this is a very serious issue. Fishermen feel wronged. Men who have fished there since the 1920s and 1930s are now being refused licences because of technical clauses drawn up by the Loughs Agency. The decommissioning scheme on the River Foyle has been supported by both Irish and British Governments. I call for the concerns and views expressed by the fishermen concerned to be investigated. I can make the details available to the relevant Minister because those families believe they have been wronged. Given that the Irish Government has put money into the scheme, that matter should be investigated because the families are not getting answers from the Loughs Agency, which is established in and working out of the city of Derry. They deserve answers, regardless of whether their view is right, because they are citizens of this Republic. Those are the two key issues I wanted to raise, the salmon fishermen in the Republic and the draft fishermen on the River Foyle.