Paul Coghlan (Fine Gael)
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The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Creed, is as welcome as ever.

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein)
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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.

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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I thank Senator Ó Clochartaigh for raising this matter and for giving me the opportunity to update the House on certain matters pertaining to the review of replacement of capacity requirements under sea fishing boat licensing policy.

As the Senator may be aware, under the Fisheries (Amendment) Act 2003 the function of sea fishing boat licensing was transferred from the Minister to the licensing authority for sea-fishing boats, which operates on an independent basis, subject to criteria set out in that Act and ministerial policy directives. As Minister, I have responsibility for policy in relation to sea-fishing boat licensing under section 3(3) of the Fisheries (Amendment) Act 2003, as amended by section 99 of the Sea-Fisheries and Maritime Jurisdiction Act 2006. In this context, and as referred to, section 3 of the 2003 Act makes provision for ministerial policy directives to issues to the independent licensing authority for sea-fishing boats. I am, however, precluded from exercising any power or control in regard to individual cases or a group of cases with which the licensing authority is or may be concerned under section 3(5) of the 2003 Act.

I received proposals from a producer organisation, which, in summary, relate to the possibility of reducing the requirement to provide 100% replacement capacity with the relevant track record to 80%, the balance being sourced from capacity without track record. The producer organisation subsequently clarified that this request covered all aspects of fleet policy and replacement capacity policy, including flexibility between segments of the fishing fleet, flexibility between sub-segments and flexibility in regard to fishing effort relating to cod recovery for area VIa and area VIIa, and scallop effort.

Separately, another producer organisation has regularly raised the issue of a review of the effort regime in place for vessels in the RSW pelagic section of the fleet. I undertook a public consultation process on these proposals and made available a consultation paper which set out the background to fleet policy and carried out an analysis of the current situation. The consultation paper examined the implications of the proposals made by the producer organisations and also put forward alternative options. This consultation concluded on 28 February 2017 and 26 submissions were received, seven from industry representatives and 19 from individuals or companies. A number of respondents supported the status quoand are opposed to any change in the current replacement capacity requirements. Some expressed concern that a change could result in an increase in the value of capacity and others are concerned about the impact on vessels of certain sizes. Others support the proposal of the producer organisation regarding the 100% capacity requirement, indicating, inter alia, that it would allow for upgrading of vessels for enhanced safety and efficiency while some respondents support some degree of flexibility with regard to replacement capacity but are not in favour of that specific proposal. A smaller number of respondents commented on the RSW pelagic effort regime proposal. Differing views were also expressed regarding a potential alternative option put forward in the consultation paper, that is, that polyvalent vessels to be licensed in the tiered - mackerel - and-or ringfenced - herring - portions would be able to source up to 10% of the required replacement capacity from non-tiered and non-ringfenced vessels in the same sub-segment at a ratio of 4:1.

The Senator will appreciate that diverse views have been expressed in the context of the consultation process, particularly on the proposal of the producer organisation regarding the 100% capacity requirement. All submissions are currently being examined in detail and they are now available to view on my Department's website. I will carefully consider, following any further analysis needed, the case for amendments to current licensing policy taking into account the submissions received. I will have my conclusions published on my Department's website at the earliest possible date.

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein)
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I welcome the Minister's response, particularly that the submissions can be viewed on the Department's website.

Since 2011, the Department has been made aware of these issues. This review was called for by the Minister on 9 September 2016. It is an issue for older and smaller vessels under 40 m, and it is essential they are upgraded as quickly as possible. Will the Minister give a guarantee that, within a year of him calling for this review, namely, by 9 September 2017, he will have come to a decision and we will have clarity around these issues concerning the boats in question?

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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I am reluctant to commit myself to a date. However, I would not have undertaken the review and invited submissions from the industry, from which many varied and conflicting views have been received, if I did not intend to act on them at the earliest possible opportunity. I want to study in detail the competing voices proffered in the context of this capacity review.

It is also important to bear in mind that, under the Common Fisheries Policy, we are obliged to keep a balance between the capacity and the fishing opportunity. It is abundantly clear there is little point in facilitating greater capacity if the fishing opportunity in terms of quotas is not available. There are many parameters within which this decision will have to be viewed, not least the opinions offered in the consultation process. I would like to conclude it within the 12 month period, but I do not want to commit myself absolutely to a date today.