Aideen Hayden (Labour) | Oireachtas source

My understanding from what the Minister said is that he is trying to attract a greater proportion of the 1.2 billion tonnes of fish caught in Irish waters. I take it, therefore, that 1.2 billion tonnes of fish are, in fact, caught in Irish waters. The Minister says that of the stocks caught by the Irish fleet, 85% are landed at the six fishery harbours controlled by his Department. That amounts to a total of 237,000 tonnes of fish.

I am coming at this matter from the following perspective. The accusation has been made during the years that aquaculture and fisheries have been neglected in favour of agriculture.

There is no doubt when one looks at some of the household names, such as Kerry Group, Glanbia, Greencore and so forth, we are talking about a different style and extent of the two industries.

I find it amazing that fish is expensive for the consumer to buy. Yesterday evening I went into my local SuperValu to get something for the dinner. I was able to buy a chicken for €5, a piece of bacon for €4 and a small tray of mince for €4 but I could not have bought enough fish to feed myself for €4 let alone enough fish to feed my family. I cannot understand that situation. The fishermen that I know do not benefit from that kind of pricing policy. Therefore, I am at a loss to understand why fish is so expensive in comparison with other products that I can buy in my local supermarket and yet we talk about the amount of support we give the fishing industry.

Do we need a symbol like the Bord Bia symbol of quality? Fish products could carry a symbol, particularly frozen products, informing consumers whether products have been sustainably sourced, fished, come from Irish waters and caught by Irish fishermen.

I wish to mention the amount of money we spend on fishing. Earlier the Minister said that in budget 2015 he announced a new seafood development programme for the period 2014 to 2020 that would cost €241 million. That is six years. I hate to say this but more money is spent on the yachting industry in this country than on the seafood development programme. Consumers want a better offering of fish. The quality of fish is excellent but the price being charged is high when compared with other foods. I hope the Minister's negotiations with the beef industry went well today.