Michael Comiskey (Fine Gael)

I am learning the brief on the marine and over Christmas I learned quite a bit. There was very good news before Christmas when the Minister announced the large increase in quota. I believe that has brought its own problem, which the previous speaker mentioned. I had a meeting with some of the people who work the Celtic Sea and the west coast over Christmas and they indicated they had managed fish stocks in the Celtic Sea over the previous years, and with the increased quotas, large boats are now coming from outside the area, taking huge catches. That is affecting fishermen's livelihood. I was told it could be possible to increase the number of jobs in the factories along the west coast and in the south if the boats with a tradition of fishing in those areas could be given the quota in preference to the larger vessels. Perhaps that could be considered, and I believe a paper has been sent to the Minister from those people, and I have done likewise. It is the same as a farmer on a commonage or hill area with a quota but somebody being able to take it from that farmer. It is a significant issue.

There is much potential for salmon farming off the west coast, as the Minister has mentioned before. It could create a significant industry. Many of the boats which fished the herring and mackerel took the catch to Norway and France for processing, which took jobs away from this country. It is important to create those jobs here, as we need them badly, so we should focus on the issue.