Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)

I am responding on behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy Tony Killeen, who has been greatly heartened by the level of informed debate generated in this Chamber and has noted the contributions made. He wanted to address the topic of harbours, which has been repeatedly referred to in this House. The Minister of State's earlier contribution and most of the subsequent inputs by Members of the House focused on the fishing industry and in particular the catching sector. The success of the fishing fleet is significantly impacted upon by the infrastructure that supports it.

I want to refer in particular to the six fishery harbour centres for which the Department has management and developmental responsibility. These centres are located at Howth, Dunmore East, Castletownbere, Ros an Mhíl, Killybegs and Daingean Uí Chúis. In addition, the Department provides significant capital funding for the smaller fishery harbours under the control of local authorities throughout the country. While the primary activity at the fishery harbour centres is associated with the fishing industry, the business profiles of the harbours differ greatly. Killybegs, as well as being Ireland's premier fishing port, has significant potential for commercial traffic and is currently being utilised as a base for vessels servicing the offshore oil and gas industry. A €50 million development has been completed at Killybegs and this year the Department commissioned the Killybegs Fishery Harbour Centre marketing strategy which was launched in April with a view to leveraging this investment and providing extra employment in the area.

Ros an Mhíl, in addition to fishing related activity, is the primary point of departure to the Aran Islands and facilitates the transportation of in excess of 200,000 passengers per annum. Howth has significant leisure activity which runs in parallel to the fishing industry. Dingle Fishery Harbour Centre, in addition to providing valuable support to the fishing industry, plays a pivotal role in the marine leisure and tourism industries.

The Department is of course mindful of the ever-changing environment in which the fishery harbour centres operate, and the need to develop and manage each of them in a businesslike and commercial manner. With this in mind it has set about compiling a five-year business plan for each of the fishery harbour centres. The Minister of State hopes to be in a position to launch these plans formally in the near future and is confident that these, together with initiatives such as the Killybegs Fishery Harbour Centre marketing strategy, will form the blueprint for the continued success and future strategic development of the fishery harbour centres.

In addition to the management and operation of the six fishery harbour centres, the Department provides significant capital investment for the development of both these centres and other fishing harbours throughout the country. In line with our commitment published in the agreed Programme for Government 2007-2012, the Department has allocated in excess of €23 million in funding in 2008 for the development of the country's fishery harbour infrastructure.

Castletownbere alone has been allocated more than €8 million this year for the continued development of the harbour. Development at Greencastle continues, with the construction of the breakwater well under way and an allocation of €3.6 million from the Department in 2008. This project deserves special mention as it highlights the positive benefits of co-operation between various stakeholders. The harbour is owned by Donegal County Council but the infrastructural development work is being carried out by the Department's engineering staff. Funding is being provided jointly between this Department, the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs and Donegal County Council, with the Department of the Minister of State, Deputy Killeen, being the main financial contributor at 75%.

It is important to illustrate some of the positive actions being taken to improve the infrastructure used by the fishing fleet in support of the wider delivery of much needed jobs in our diverse coastal communities. In all, the Department has this year allocated funding for 69 different projects at 45 different locations and will, in 2009, continue with a programme to provide safe and modern harbour and aquaculture landing facilities for all our fishermen.

I refer to the whole issue of administrative sanctions which was dealt with comprehensively by the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Deputy Brendan Smith, in his addresses to both Houses of the Oireachtas in July. I will now summarise the situation. The possibility of introducing administrative sanctions was comprehensively considered, including an examination of practices in other member states, at the time of the passage through the Oireachtas of the Sea Fisheries and Maritime Jurisdiction Bill. The position taken by the Minister at the time was based on the legal advice from the Attorney General. The Minister, Deputy Smith, and the Minister of State, Deputy Killeen, gave a commitment to the Federation of Irish Fishermen to ask the Attorney General to examine the issue further and consider if any new developments could support the introduction of a regime of administrative sanctions for fisheries offences here.

The Minister, Deputy Smith, subsequently wrote to the Attorney General seeking a review of the situation. The Attorney General replied in unequivocal terms to the effect that there have been no new developments which require a change and furthermore, for constitutional reasons, the State is obliged to choose the criminal sanctions option rather than the administrative sanctions option. The Minister and I, as responsible legislators, have to accept the advice of the Attorney General on this matter. The advice from successive Attorneys General has been consistent.

An issue which has been the subject of much public debate is discards, or the dumping overboard of unwanted or over quota fish from a fishing vessel. This is a complex global problem and is a feature of many fisheries, particularly those that involve a mix of species, for example, cod, haddock and whiting. In a mixed fishery, one species may be the target of fishing activity, but other species, which are unwanted, for which the vessel has no quota, or for which the quota has been already been exhausted, may be caught accidentally in the fishing gear. Quota species taken in excess of quota, or for which a vessel has no quota, may not legally be landed. This can result in the unwanted fish being discarded. Discarding can also occur for economic reasons when smaller, less valuable fish are dumped in favour of larger, more marketable ones, a practice known as high-grading. In other cases the fish captured are less than the minimum landing size for that species. Most of the fish discarded do not survive.

This problem is being addressed at a European level through measures regulating fishing gear, such as adjusting net mesh sizes or requiring acoustic devices to be attached to fishing gear. The Marine Institute and BIM continue to be active in trying to improve the existing data on discards and develop ways of reducing their impact. The level of Ireland's concern in this matter can be evidenced by the development of a proposal to help address discards in the nephrops fisheries around Ireland. This proposal has been presented to the European Commission and the other main players involved in this fishery.

Compliance with the EU habitats and birds directives has also been a significant issue for the Department in recent times. I do not intend to dwell too much on what is a hugely complex subject. The European Court of Justice issued a judgment on 13 December 2007 against Ireland in regard to non-compliance with the birds and habitats directives. A working group was established including officials from this Department, the national parks and wildlife service, the Marine Institute and BIM to develop a time bound plan that will enable Ireland to achieve compliance with the directives.

Fishing activity in Natura 2000 sites can pose a risk to the conservation status of these sites which are protected by the habitats and birds directives. Managing the risk posed by fishing activities, in combination with other industrial or recreational activities, is a significant task. The directives outline procedures for assessing and managing risk in Natura sites involving the collection of baseline data to establish conservation status. The baseline data required for the designated areas must first be collected and then an appropriate assessment carried out on the area based on this data.

The process of collection of baseline data to establish the conservation objectives and status of Natura sites is under way but has not yet been completed, and €1.46 million has been set aside in 2009 specifically to support this process. The work of the working group is continuing, and as recently as Tuesday, 11 November a meeting took place to further the aim of having a process in place which is sufficiently robust to meet the requirements of the European Commission, in particular the environment directorate general.

I refer to the question of finances and the 2009 budget as it pertains to the seafood sector. The budget provided grant aid support of €118 million for the seafood industry for 2009. In this era of financial restraint, this a substantial investment and demonstrates the Government's ongoing commitment to the sector. There are reductions in the budgets of the Marine Institute, BIM and the SFPA, as part of a prudent realignment and rationalisation of the public sector. This does not disguise the fact that the seafood processing sector has in fact doubled its budget, which is recognised by Dr. Noel Cawley in his report, Steering A New Course, as a growth area.

I previously referred to €1.46 million which has been set aside specifically to support compliance of fisheries and aquaculture activities in Natura 2000 sites. A further €5 million has been made available for aquaculture development support. In addition, funding has been provided to enable the successful completion of the current decommissioning of fishing vessels scheme. I referred earlier to the fishery harbour and coastal infrastructure programme, which has been allocated €17 million in 2009. This ensures that there is substantial scope for further improving facilities for fisheries activities operating out of Irish harbours. The budget allocated to this programme will be used to continue the development of infrastructure for fisheries and aquaculture landing places around the coast.

The Minister for Finance, Deputy Brian Lenihan, also announced in the budget that the promotion and marketing of seafood will be transferred from BIM to Bord Bia, offering the prospect of synergies and opportunities that will result from the integration of seafood marketing and promotion with food marketing. BIM will, however, retain its pivotal role in driving the Cawley report on the development of the seafood industry.

As in any other economic activity there are a myriad of factors impacting on the broader seafood sector at any given time. The Minister of State's opportunity to address this House has allowed him to touch on some of these, and he hopes that the Senators find themselves better informed for this session. Since taking this brief, the Minister of State has consistently stated his firm belief that this is not a sunset industry; quite the contrary, there are always new opportunities presenting themselves and new horizons to be achieved. The Minister of State's prime role is to ensure that the environment exists to enable the maximisation of our potential. To do this he will continue in his efforts, in a co-operative framework, taking account of the needs and views of all stakeholders to develop measures and policies which will have the best long-term beneficial results for this sector.