Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Connick, for taking this matter. To synopsise it in a nutshell, Garnish is a little fishing hamlet in the Beara Peninsula, about 15 miles west of Castletownbere, facing primarily onto Kenmare Bay. Beara, Castletownbere and the general area are renowned for their fishing activity and in the small community of Garnish there are in the region of 20 or 25 small vessels. These are not ocean-going trawlers but small half-deckers or fully decked vessels that range from 20 feet to 40 feet at maximum. They traditionally fish for mackerel on a seasonal basis and provide significant income for the fishermen, some of whom are part-time farmers or small fishermen. This activity has been under scrutiny and there is some doubt as to its future.

The purpose of my motion is to ask the Minister of State to recognise that this is a traditional mackerel fishing area with fishermen who go back generations. This is not a recent activity. I ask the Minister of State to confirm that the quota for these fishermen will be maintained into the future and that they will not have the situation they had this year, and possibly other years, of starting the year not knowing their fate for the future. They would like to know on a year to year basis and well in advance that the traditional fishery will be maintained and protected by the State and they will have a certain amount of the mackerel quota, which is small even in Irish terms and certainly in European or global terms. I hope the Minister will have positive news for me.