I move that the Bill be now read a Second Time. The House will recall that the Irish Sea Fisheries Association, Limited, which was incorporated in 1930 under the Industrial and Provident Societies Acts, 1893 to 1913, ceased to exist in 1952 when, under the provisions of the Sea Fisheries Act, 1952, it was replaced by a corporate body, An Bord Iascaigh Mhara, upon which the Act conferred wide executive functions and powers in relation to the development of the sea-fishing industry. Among the financial provisions made in the latter enactment for the purpose of enabling the board to exercise or perform their functions are Section 17 which empowers the making of grants from voted moneys and Section 18 which enables the making of repayable advances subject to a limit of £500,000 in the aggregate from the Central Fund from time to time to the board.
The advances already made to the board and their immediate needs are are such that the statutory limit to such advances will have been reached early in the current financial year. Up to 31st March, 1956, advances totalling £431,612 had been made to the board leaving a balance of £68,388. The board's requirements from the Central Fund in the current financial year are estimated to be £215,000. The purpose of the present Bill is, therefore, to increase the present ceiling of advances that may be made to the board from the Central Fund from £500,000 to £1,000,000.
Deputies will naturally wish to know the use to which the advances made to the board up to 31st March, 1956, have been put. These advances have been utilised as follows:—
|
£ |
||
|
(a) |
Provision of boats and gear on hire-purchase terms to fishermen (including stocks on hands) |
321,142 |
|
(b) |
Purchase of three off-shore fishing vessels operated directly by the board |
60,000 |
|
(c) |
Purchase of two marine engines for installation in two vessels proposed to be built for exploratory purposes |
13,000 |
|
(d) |
Establishment of processing station at Killybegs for production of quick-frozen and smoked fish and for manufacture of fish meal on a pilot scale |
25,970 |
|
(e) |
Improvement of board's marketing depots at Dublin, Cork, Dingle, Killybegs and Caherciveen |
3,750 |
|
(f) |
Improvement of boat-building yards at Killybegs and Baltimore |
3,250 |
|
(g) |
Purchase of insulated transport |
2,500 |
|
(h) |
Extension of office premises |
2,000 |
|
TOTAL |
431,612 |
|
I should explain that towards the cost of the projects at (d), (e) and (f) namely, the Killybegs fish processing station and the improvement of certain of the board's marketing depots and boat-building yards, grants to an aggregate amount of £11,110 have also been provided through the Fisheries Vote in view of the element of pioneering effort involved and of the consequential unlikelihood of its being possible to repay the cost in full from operational results. All instalments on advances already made to the board from the Central Fund have been paid according as they fell due; the total amount repaid up to 31st March, 1956, was £15,523 12s. 2d.
I am satisfied that the provision of boats and gear and the shore development works as indicated have contributed greatly to the expansion in the sea-fishing industry which has taken place in the past few years. The increase in catching power due to the building up of an efficient fleet of modern fishing boats is resulting in a marked improvement in the supply of demersal fish, that is, fish other than herrings and mackerel, which includes the varieties mostly required for the consumer market.
The board's sales of all classes of fish in the past financial year amounted to 161,377 cwt., valued at £447,342, compared with 107,983 cwt., valued at £414,006, in the preceding year. The shore development works carried out have proved of great advantage in the expansion of the board's marketing business and have made it possible to dispose of increasing quantities of fish at local centres whereas formerly almost all the landings were transferred to the Dublin and Cork wholesale markets for sale. In the financial year 1955-56 sales at the depots established at Killybegs, Dingle, Limerick and Galway came to close on £80,000.
The position of the sea-fishing industry now is that the first stage in development has been almost completed, i.e., the catching efforts of our own fishermen are now sufficient for the supply of home demand for fresh fish at the existing level. Progress must be continued if the fishing industry is to contribute its full share to the economic life of the country by taking advantage of our fishery resources and promoting their development and use to the fullest possible extent. That progress can only be maintained by still further increasing the catching power and by creating additional outlets including particularly the expansion of home consumer demand, employing processing methods to improve distribution and the utilisation of heavy landings of fish such as herrings and mackerel for the production of fish meal. In this connection, the board have submitted to me a provisional advance programme of shore development works to be spread over the next five years. These embrace facilities for improved handling and processing of fish and the extent to which a beginning is proposed to be made with them has already been given by me to the House in my opening remarks on the recent debate on the Fisheries Estimates.
While the total estimated cost of carrying out the long term programme is put at £377,565, this figure cannot, in view of the possibility of labour cost and commodity price increases, be taken as any more than an indication of the order of cost of the proposals. The board in their submission of the programme suggested that about £160,000 of the total cost might be provided as grant in view of the pioneering nature of some of the proposals thus leaving the estimated requirements to be met by way of advances from the Central Fund at, say, £220,000. Included in the programme is provision for the establishment of fishmeal plants. In this connection I am glad to say private enterprise has already shown an interest in the matter.
As regards boats and gear, I am satisfied that the present rate of issue of boats to fishermen under the board's hire-purchase scheme should be maintained for some years to come. The present cost of the issues is about £160,000 per annum and, allowing for the fact that approximately £45,000 becomes available to the board from cash sales, prepayments on boats issued and certain repayments by the fishermen, the sum required from the Central Fund for this purpose is put at £115,000 a year. I am convinced that our fishing resources could sustain much more intensive fishing effort with adequate return to the fishermen in view of the plans envisaged for the utilisation of heavier landings. It is essential, therefore, to provide for issues of a further sum of £500,000 for the execution of the board's proposals for shore installations and the issue of boats and gear to fishermen. This sum will, I expect, be adequate to provide for the board's requirements by way of advances for a further period of about four years from 1st April, 1956, at the end of which period I sincerely hope that, through the employment of the moneys now sought, our sea-fishing industry will have made further substantial progress with corresponding benefit to the country as a whole.
