Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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Question 565: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the progress made in relation to the programme for Government proposal to ensure that voluntary fishing vessel decommissioning on the scale envisaged in the Cawley report will be fully implemented and will be focused on the larger whitefish vessels over 18 m giving greater priority to the allocation of fishing quotas to smaller vessels; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28621/08]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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A new decommissioning scheme for vessels greater than 18m was launched in February 2008 with the objective of increasing the quota available for the rest of the fleet. Over €21m. has been allocated for 2008 with a further €21m committed in 2009.

On 23rd June 2008, I announced grant aid of €41.1m to decommission 46 fishing vessels under the 2008 fishing vessel decommissioning scheme. This large scale decommissioning of larger older whitefish trawlers will be of benefit to the remaining whitefish fleet and will improve the quota allocation to the remaining vessels.