Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire. There are many issues I wish to raise, but on the point Senator Comiskey made about looking after the smaller fishermen I agree with Senator O'Donovan that we should consider trying to renegotiate the quotas at EU level. However, the Minister has control over an element of the domestic quota, but 87% of the quota is controlled by 23 boats in the north west of the country. That could and should be addressed. Some people in the industry say that even a small re-balancing of that quota could create a couple of hundred jobs in the processing sector in the west and south west. It could rejuvenate the fishing and processing industry throughout the country, and it would support smaller fishermen and the coastal communities in a better way. It is time that the Minister tackled the golden circle in the fishing industry and secured the future for a new generation of fishermen and women. Perhaps the Minister would explain the rationale in his Department for the distribution of domestic quota and why he has not addressed this historical imbalance.

Will the Minister comment on the implications of the deal that has been done with Iceland and the Faroe Islands in respect of the mackerel quotas? The quota has increased here as well, but the market has been flooded by cheap product which is having an impact on the profitability of the Irish fleet.

There was a very good Oireachtas joint committee report on fisheries and sustainable rural coastal and island communities. It made 29 recommendations with regard to rural coastal and island communities and their socio-economic profile, existing policy and licensing regimes, and developing strategies for rural and island communities. What steps has the Minister taken to date to implement these recommendations?

What is the Minister doing to tackle the scourge of the factory ships that are hoovering up fish off our west coast?

I was talking to somebody involved in the industry who yesterday was looking at the AIS and monitoring boats off the coast of counties Clare, Mayo and Galway. There were a number of boats there, predominantly Dutch. Holland has a smaller quota than ours, but its boats seem to be fishing in the area all year round. Will the Minister tell us what policing is being engaged in of these boats? Irish boat owners believe they are being hammered by regulations, while it appears a blind eye is being turned to these factory ships. How does the Minister intend to address this issue? I am also told anecdotally that a Spanish vendor who buys fish in Spain has bought fish from some of these operators, including, for example, hake, for which they do not have a quota. There appear to be huge issues around the way some of these ships are operating.

People involved in the industry, including smaller and pelagic fishermen, are very concerned about the upcoming negotiations in Brussels on the distribution of quotas. They are particularly worried about the potential closing of the prawns fishery in the Aran grounds and calling on the Minister not to sacrifice this quota in the upcoming negotiations. They are also calling on him to keep these areas open and carry out more detailed research in the next 12 months into abundance densities. This could be done in conjunction with local fishermen and would, they believe, give a more accurate picture of stock levels.

Will the Minister clarify the position on the development of a deep water pier at Rosaveel? I understand there is also work to be done there on a slip which has been promised but not begun yet.

Iascaire Intíre Éireann is a group that represents small-scale inshore fishermen who have asked to meet the Minister on a number of occasions but have not yet been successful in doing so. I understand a number of meetings were cancelled. Will the Minister tell the House why the meetings were cancelled and also why they have not been rescheduled? It is because he has an issue with the organisation? Is there a reason he does not want to meet its representatives?

The issue of social protection supports has been raised. The joint sub-committee's report makes specific recommendations in this regard as existing social welfare law considers fishermen to be self-employed. Owing to the low take-up of the voluntary class "P" PRSI contribution, the sub-committee has recommended that a re-examination of access to jobseeker's benefit, illness benefit and other social welfare benefits for such fishermen be undertaken. Fishermen whose boats are tied up for periods of time due to bad weather or other issues do not receive sufficient support from the Department of Social Protection to help them through these difficult patches. What is the Minister doing to address these issues? Why have we not seen measures in successive budgets to address them?