Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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39. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the extent to which he and his colleagues in the European Union are aware of the difficulties facing families dependent on the fishing industry here and throughout the European Union; the measures he is pursuing to address this issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9302/16]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The new Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) provides the framework for the long term sustainability of fish stocks around our shores, the continued economic viability of our fishing fleet and fish processing industry while supporting our families and communities that depend on the sea for their livelihood. From the outset of the Common Fisheries Policy revision process, Ireland’s overarching goal was to ensure a sustainable, profitable and self reliant industry that protects and enhances the social and economic fabric of rural coastal communities dependent on the seafood sector, while balancing these objectives with the need to safeguard fish stocks for future generations. This will ensure that families dependent on fishing can look forward to being part of a vibrant, productive and resilient Irish fishing industry and can expect to continue to achieve a reasonable return for their efforts and investment.

A key element of the new CFP is the setting of fishing levels on the basis of MSY (Maximum Sustainable Yield). This should ultimately lead to healthy fish stocks, higher quotas for both Irish and EU fishermen and lead to more sustainable fishing patterns. The introduction of a landing obligation/discarding ban on a phased basis, as set out in the CFP, also represents a fundamental shift in fisheries policy and fishing practices. It is expected that over time the landing obligation will lead to an improvement in the state of the stocks of importance to Ireland and will result in increased fishing opportunities for the Irish fishing industry.

I was delighted to launch on 14 January 2016 Ireland’s new €240 million EMFF Seafood Development Operational Programme. This new investment programme will be the source of very significant investment supports for the seafood sector for the period up to 2020. The Programme represents a doubling of previous support levels.

The Programme aims to support the seafood industry in meeting the challenges of the CFP and in sustainably growing production, value and employment in the seafood industry, in particular the aquaculture and processing sectors. Some €67 million is being made available for the fishing sector, €30 million for aquaculture and €30 million for seafood processing and marketing. A further €12 million is being made available to significantly grow the Fisheries Local Action Group initiative to foster economic activity in fishing communities and €10 million for blue growth and marine spatial planning.

The Programme will support the FoodWise 2025 strategy for the seafood sector, in particular its targets of achieving €1 billion in seafood sales and growth of employment of 3,000 by 2020.

A range of schemes under the Programme have already been launched by BIM in 2016 and grant offers are being made at present. I have provided BIM with some €23.7 million in 2016 for this purpose.