Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Question 141: To ask the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources if he will report on the national sea fisheries and seafood strategy and on the way this will be facilitated by the next phase of the National Development Plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38841/06]

Noel Dempsey (Meath, Fianna Fail)
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Minister of State John Browne and myself established the Seafood Strategy Review Group in June 2006 with the objective of consulting with all stakeholders to devise a strategy for the 2007-13 period for the delivery of a sustainable and profitable seafood industry in Ireland.

I expect to receive the report of the Seafood Strategy Review Group within the next two to three weeks. This report will set out the development strategy for the sea fisheries, seafood and aquaculture sectors.

The achievement of the strategy will require the taking of a set of integrated, market led actions to improve competitiveness and profitability across all the sectors of the industry — sea fishing, aquaculture, processing and marketing — by targeting investment so as to achieve the highest level of value generation within the Irish seafood industry.

The strategy will feed into the Seafood Development element of the new National Development Plan being drawn up for the 2007-2013 period so that the seafood sector, including the Aquaculture sector, will have access to the necessary development funding for the coming years.