Fidelma Healy Eames (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister of State to the House and thank him for responding to this matter. I ask the Minister to state how he plans to share out the extra mackerel quota offered for 2009. The mackerel quota has been increased by 33.3%, which is good news, for 2009. There is a fear in the west, in particular in Galway but also among fishermen in Kerry and Cork who are part of the polyvalent fleet, that the increase will be allocated in its entirety to the 23 boats based in Killybegs. That is likely to result in the fish being landed abroad, which is what happened in 2008. I am looking for a share of this increase for the smaller boats in coastal communities. This issue affects boats in Galway, ten to 12 boats in Rossaveal and the processing plant Iasc Mhara Teo.

I will provide some background to this. As the Minister of State knows, the mackerel quota for 2008 was 49,000 metric tonnes. Some 7,000 metric tonnes of the quota was allocated to the polyvalent fleet of approximately 30 boats and 42,000 metric tonnes was allocated to the RSW pelagic, super-trawler fleet of 23 boats, which are larger and which are based in Killybegs. The mackerel quota is expected to increase by 33.3%, or approximately 16,000 metric tonnes. A group comprised of representatives of the polyvalent fleet and the four pelagic processors in the south Galway, Cork and Kerry regions came to me and many other politicians to ask that they receive at least 50% of the additional quota. That appears to be a fair and genuine request.

I make this claim because the polyvalent fleet is committed to landing at least 90% of the allocation in the Republic of Ireland and this has been their track record since 2002. The additional quota would give a financial boost, which is very important in these economically constrained times, of approximately €10 million to coastal communities in the west and south of Ireland, and would secure jobs on trawlers and in fish processing factories which are now in serious difficulty. If the additional quota is allocated exclusively to the Killybegs-based pelagic fleet, most of it is likely to be landed abroad, with fewer benefits to employment in Ireland or the Irish economy. All the RSW pelagic mackerel quota for autumn 2008 was landed abroad.

The polyvalent mackerel quota should be managed by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food-appointed Celtic Sea herring management advisory committee to ensure the processing season is extended to maximise value-added employment. This quota is a national asset and it is important, in the interest of balance and fairness, to note that in this proposal no fish will be taken from the RSW pelagic mackerel allocation. An allocation of 7,000 metric tonnes was made to the polyvalent fleet in 2002 and that precedent shows this allocation is possible.

I ask the Minister of State, in the interest of fairness and given that this is a national asset, that the extra mackerel quota be allocated fairly nationally. I look forward to hearing how he proposes to allocate the mackerel quota this year.