Ned O'Sullivan (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Sargent, to the House. I wish him well in the current negotiations, which are very important to us. We were successful this time last year in very difficult circumstances but we are obviously in more straitened circumstances now. I wish the Minister of State well in renegotiating the Common Fisheries Policy, in which the Irish do not have any great pride, as other Senators stated. This contrasts with farmers' support for the Common Agriculture Policy and their sense of ownership thereof. Fishermen hold the direct opposite view to farmers in respect of the Common Fisheries Policy, yet the fishing industry is still very important to the country.

The fishing industry is worth €700 million to the economy and it employs 11,000 people. It is particularly important in remote, peripheral areas such as the south west and the north west, in which there is no alternative employment. Very few industries are locating in towns such as Castletownbere or Dingle. Much of the tourism appeal of such areas is based on the fishing industry, the piers and the excitement of landing fish.

I am glad the Minister of State, Deputy Sargent, is present because nobody has done more than him to promote healthy living and the concept of Ireland as a country with healthy food. As spokesperson on food and horticulture in the Seanad, I am aware of his great work in promoting country markets. My one disappointment — I depend on my better half for this information because she goes to her fair share of country markets — is that while there is now an increasing variety of home-produced foods, the amount of fish available is disappointingly small. At some country markets there is no fish. Where there is fish, the variety is very limited and it is usually sold out by mid-morning. I would like the Minister of State to ascertain the problem in this regard, bearing in mind that there is no shortage of fish. Is there a shortage of initiative? Is it because of the nature of the product and its perishability?

We have succeeded in promoting the idea that Irish beef is premier in the world. We have not succeeded in getting across the same idea in respect of our fish products. I referred before to the notion that Norway is the home of fish. There are Norski fishbars around the world but there is no such image of Ireland, an island nation, being a producer of a good fish product. We have the name for whiskey, Guinness and beef but what is wrong with our fish? There is something wrong in the promotions line.

I notice lately that many pubs and restaurants in the city are making much more use of the wide variety of our native shellfish. It is quite common now to see oysters available in pubs and oyster bars and a person can have mussels or smoked salmon for lunch. The situation is improving all the time. This increase is important and we must build on it. None the less, when our own cafeteria serves fish, nine times out of ten it will be cod and one can eat cod only so many days a week. Cod is of very little value to the Irish economy because a great deal of it is Norwegian sourced.

The one major breakthrough, as mentioned by Senators O'Donovan and Bradford and others, is the big increase we got in the quota for mackerel in the current year. This is important and was a great achievement by the Department and the Minister. As the Minister of State acknowledged in his speech, much of it is down to the good responsible fishing practices of the Irish fleet. Mackerel is making significant prices on the market at present and is a very valuable contributor to the overall economy. However, as Senator O'Donovan said, it is of value principally to the main trawlers, the very big operators. It is of very little value to operators such as Ó Catháin Éisc in Dingle which lands catches from smaller vessels. Of these additional mackerel to be caught, 75% will be landed in Scotland or Norway. If we could get more of that quota for the smaller mixed vessels, it could be landed in Dingle, Castletownbere, Waterford, Galway, etc. and would be of benefit to the overall economy. I understand that representatives of the four ports involved are seeking a meeting with the Minister and I am sure he will oblige them by discussing this point. Ó Catháin Éisc employs 80 people in Dingle and is the biggest industry in town. I am advised that if it does not get additional fish, it will not be able to sustain such levels of employment.

I have some brief Kerry-based issues. In Cromane last year there was a danger to the continuing industry of mussel farming because of the special area of conservation, SAC, designation. That has been resolved pro tempore. There are equal worries now in Kenmare, around the Kenmare river and Killmackillogue that because other areas are being sectioned off as SACs, there will be a detrimental effect on agriculture in the area. I have raised the issue of Fenit before. Fishermen there who fish for oysters and lobster in season are obliged to take out separate licences for two boats. This is ridiculous because they can fish for both species off the same boat in different seasons. I ask the Minister of State to examine this.