Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Go raibh maith agat, a Leas-Chathaoirligh. Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire. Tá mé thar a bheith sásta gur tháinig sé féin isteach leis an cheist seo a fhreagairt agus faoin suim atá aige san ábhar seo.

I am grateful that the Minister has taken the time to take this Commencement matter, which relates to the ongoing review of the management of the fishing fleet's capacity. We are both from coastal areas and realise the importance of the fishing fleet to coastal and rural communities. The figures in my area are stark. There has been a significant contraction in the Ros a' Mhíl offshore fishing fleet since 2003, with it more than halving at an unprecedented and alarming rate. Fifteen boats have been extracted from the fleet, ten of which were owned by people from the Aran Islands. Currently, nine Ros a' Mhíl and Aran offshore fishing boats are licensed. One is not fishing and seven are owned and skippered by Inishmore fishermen.

The contraction is particularly alarming for the Ros a' Mhíl Harbour area, which was the subject of an independent technical report commissioned in 2013 and undertaken by the Ros a' Mhíl Harbour centre, entitled A Socio-economic Profile of Ireland's Fishing Communities. It stated that, in terms of the number of boat owners per thousand of population, fishing was approximately 20 times more important to the local economy than to Ireland as a whole. A 2016 report on the harbour calculated that 92% of annual economic turnover in the Ros a' Mhíl area relied on the seafood sector.

At least €22 million was spent on Ros a' Mhíl Harbour between 2004 and 2014. Therefore, the contraction of the fleet raises serious questions about the future return on the State's investment and the need to ensure a vibrant fishing community in the area.

I welcome the review of the management of the fleet's capacity and the tonnage that is available to boats. A number of issues arise in this regard and fall into two categories - the safety of the boats in question and the viability of the fishermen's businesses. The number of fatalities and sinkings in the past 20 years is shocking. According to figures with which I have been supplied, there have been 40 sinkings and 30 fatalities in that time. Given that the majority of those fishing vessels were under 40 m in length, smaller vessels seem to be more prone to sinking and fatalities. When one breaks down the figures, a high percentage of the boats that sink are wooden and tend to be older vessels.

There are issues that need to be addressed and we must ensure all fishermen are as safe and remain as viable as possible. If that means they must upgrade their boats, the technicalities around tonnage and so on need to be addressed and the Department should not stand in the way.I appreciate that is the purpose of the review, but it needs to be progressed as quickly as possible, as stated by the Minister a number of months ago when he set the review in train. I would like the Minister to clarify today when the submissions in regard to the review will be published on the Department's website and the timescale for the implementation of the review given there are currently a number of boats tied up and unable to fish and others that need to be upgraded from a health and safety perspective, sooner rather than later. I look forward to the Minister's clarification of this matter.