When I reported progress I was speaking about a company known as Shannon Atlantic Fisheries Limited. During the course of the debate I said Mr. P. Ó Síocháin was a defeated Fianna Fáil candidate. That is not correct. He was a defeated Labour candidate and I wish to put that on record. If I mentioned another party it was a mistake on my part.
I should like the Parliamentary Secretary to let us know if An Bord Iascaigh Mhara are making a concerted effort to squeeze out the small skippers. The average fisherman, aged from 20 to 25 years, has no hope of getting the £3,500 or £4,000 necessary for a deposit for a trawler. It would be a worthwhile scheme if An Bord Iascaigh Mhara could arrange to deduct a certain amount of money from the weekly wages of the young apprentices so that when they reached the age of 25 years they could qualify for boats. It would be a tremendous incentive to young people to know that at the age of 25 years they could own their own boats.
I should like the Parliamentary Secretary to explain the reason for the delay in construction of the school it was proposed to build in Donegal. Last year we were told that the school would be built then but so far nothing has been done. Also, would the Parliamentary Secretary please tell us the drop-out rate among the trainee fishermen? I have been told that the rate is as high as 50 per cent and if this is correct there must be something wrong with the scheme.
An allowance of £4 per week is given to the young trainees but this amount is completely inadequate. A more realistic sum would be £7 or £8 per week. I am sure the Parliamentary Secretary will agree with me that it is ridiculous to expect young boys to make do with £4 a week, especially when they are living away from home. I would ask him to do everything possible to increase this allowance.
Some one and a half years ago I asked the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries if his Department had a conservation policy for fisheries and I was told that this policy was in course of preparation. So far it has not materialised and it is long overdue. Some of the fishermen on the south-west coast have grave misgivings about the new type of trawler An Bord Iascaigh Mhara have introduced, namely, the stern trawler. The fishermen object to the type of net being used in this trawler; they claim it will rake the bottom of the ocean and destroy the spawning grounds. These are genuine fears and the Parliamentary Secretary should try to allay the fears of the fishermen in this regard. If these trawlers arrive at the ports there will be an even more drastic type of agitation than was used by the Dublin Housing Action Committee. Whether they are right or not, the fishermen are convinced that these trawlers will destroy the fishing grounds. I should like the Parliamentary Secretary to deal with this matter in detail in his reply.
Much play was made by the Parliamentary Secretary about the two research ships but it is well known that these two ships are tied to the piers for most of the year. It would be enlightening if the Parliamentary Secretary told us how many hours fishing those trawlers spent in the last year and how many different crews were engaged during that time. The conditions on board these boats are disgraceful. This is why the crew do not rejoin the boats and the skippers are obliged to look for new crew frequently. Perhaps the Parliamentary Secretary will tell us about conditions on board those trawlers.
Another matter causing concern is pollution and Deputy Blaney referred to this in his speech. It is well known that effluent from silos is flowing on to some of our strands and this type of pollution is particularly severe. I saw a stretch of coast in Dingle where effluent from a silo pit flowed into the tide. Within a radius of two miles all the shellfish had died. Inspectors from the Department should inspect the various harbours, particularly checking if effluent from silo pits is contaminating the areas. This could be a tremendous problem in the future and we should take action now. The strand I have mentioned in County Kerry was famous for razor fish, scallops and many other types of fish but there is no live fish in this area now. If this kind of pollution is not prevented it is possible that it may get out of control.
With regard to Dingle Harbour, An Bord Iascaigh Mhara should have given a cash grant to provide a deep freeze for the fishermen in the co-op at Dingle. When a certain property came on the market some time ago, the fishermen were prepared to put up £31,000 to buy the property. An Bord Iascaigh Mhara should have stepped in and helped them to buy the property but the Shannon Atlantic Fisheries bought the property and squeezed out the local fishermen. It is possible that there will be conflict in the area in the future. The company will be able to store fish in their deep-freeze and put it on the market in opposition to the fishermen in the co-op. In this way there will be local friction which could have been avoided. I was at a meeting when it became known that the property, which was owned by the Blasket Sea Foods, was being put on the market. At that meeting the fishermen subscribed approximately £8,000, they received money from local businessmen, and were able to gather £31,000. It was good to see local fishermen invest their savings in further development for themselves but it was wrong that a company should come along and, with the aid of An Bord Iascaigh Mhara, squeeze out the local fishermen. It would be very wrong if that type of thing developed. It has started at Dingle and it could happen at other ports as well. I hope the Parliamentary Secretary will take note of my remarks.
At the moment dredging is supposed to be in operation at Dingle Harbour. An Bord Iascaigh Mhara and Roinn na Gaeltachta had a great deal to do with getting the dredging started, but it is now at a full stop. The dredger there seems to be obsolete. Alternative proposals have been put up by the local fishermen and the local chamber of commerce. The contractor must have run into difficulties; otherwise the work would be going on. This may be more a matter for the Board of Works, but An Bord Iascaigh Mhara should consult with the Board of Works in order to get this work under way again, because we were long enough waiting for it to start.
If young people realised what a fine life fishing was and what a prosperous living it could provide if they were prepared to work, many of them would take up fishing as a career. There are a number of young boys who have no hope of becoming academics and who would make very good fishermen. As I suggested the last time this Estimate was being discussed here, An Bord Iascaigh Mhara should appoint a public relations officer to visit the secondary and vocational schools with the object of promoting fishing as a career.
On 24th August, 1970, An Bord Iascaigh Mhara published a report in The Irish Times which indicated that there was a target of £15 million for the fishing industry by 1974. How can we reach that in view of the small token Estimate which is before us here today? In that report the chairman of An Bord Iascaigh Mhara said that he expected to have 350 new boats by 1974. I am sure An Bord Iascaigh Mhara are doing the best they can but if the money is not provided they cannot make boats available. I am quite sure there has not been an increase of 50 trawlers in Irish coastal waters in the last 12 months. There may be 50 extra trawlers but they would be replacements; there would not be 50 new skippers.
The Parliamentary Secretary has not stated how much fish was imported during the past 12 months. Around the country it is being said that something in the region of £2,500,000 worth of fish was being imported. I do not know whether that figure is correct because I have not got the report of An Bord Iascaigh Mhara. Perhaps the Parliamentary Secretary would give us that information. If that is so, it is disgraceful that the Government should still be neglecting the fishing industry which is right at our doorstep. No investment is needed in it. All that is required is that people go out and catch the fish. Young people are there to fish if the necessary incentives are provided. In 1971 the Parliamentary Secretary said in his report:
Improvement works have been approved for Dingle, Cuas (Baile Mór Thoir) and Bealtra, County Kerry; Rossaveel, Cleggan, Emlaghmore, Roundstone, Furnais North, Coolacloy, Renvyle, Sruffaun, Sruthán Buí, Garafin and Glinsk, County Galway.
Those are only a few of a long list of projected improvements which the Parliamentary Secretary read out. Could he tell us how many of those works were actually carried out? I would say that not even 30 per cent have been carried out. I know that from my own area. What is the point of announcing that schemes have been approved when the money is not provided? It is not fair that the hopes of the fishermen in those localities should be raised by being told that their pier or harbour is to be improved when nothing is done about it. Is it that the Minister for Finance has not provided the necessary money to effect those improvements? These are questions that should be answered.
Recently the Minister for Finance, Deputy Colley, got a report from the Shannon Free Airport Development Company and representatives of the different Gaeltacht areas stating that there was a future in fishing in those areas. I had hoped that the Minister would accept that report in principle and give the necessary incentives to fishermen and would-be fishermen, if the Government are serious about saving the West.
I understand An Bord Iascaigh Mhara is making an all-out effort to revise the insurance rates for trawlers. The insurance on a 75-foot trawler is between £600 and £700 a year. This is a colossal figure. The Parliamentary Secretary knows that trawlers cannot go out at all times during the year. It depends very much on the weather, but whether the trawler is tied to the pier or engaged in fishing, the fishermen still must pay the insurance which represents an overhead of something like £12 per week. If they have a breakdown and they are tied to the pier for two or three weeks, they still have to pay this insurance. I would ask An Bord Iascaigh Mhara to take a very close look at the insurance of these trawlers because the figure of £650 is much too high. They may be able to do something about it.
An Bórd Iascaigh Mhara should approach CIE for a special rate—like the Great Train Robbery—for the transport of fish from far away districts to Dublin. CIE fish transport costs are exorbitant. This should be a form of subsidy for the fisherman. CIE should give a special rate for the carriage of fish from Killybegs, Galway, Castletownbere, Dingle, Cahirciveen and Dungarvan to the Dublin market.
In 1964 an American survey team were invited to this country by the late Deputy Seán Lemass. They made a fantastic report on fisheries under a number of headings. Can the Parliamentary Secretary tell us if the board accepted any of the recommendations of that survey team. Recommendation No. 7 recommended re-organising the fish market and establishing a State-supervised auction in Dublin. Everyone knows that there is a fish ring in the Dublin market. This ring should be smashed. I hope the Parliamentary Secretary will let us know if An Bord Iascaigh Mhara intend to get back into the marketing of fish. It was a retrograde step by the board to opt out of the marketing of fish.
When we enter the EEC we will have to have better landing facilities. Foreigners will be able to land here. There is no question about that. These facilities must be provided under the Treaty of Rome. We are making no effort whatsoever to gear ourselves for the intensive competition which we will have to face in ten years time.
It is not good enough for the Parliamentary Secretary to go round meeting the fishermen and saying "Hello" to them. He will be judged on what he can accomplish. I know he has the ability. He should go to the Minister for Finance and say: "I cannot work on that budget." I hope he will come to the House at a later stage with a Supplementary Estimate for an injection of capital, which is long overdue, for An Bord Iascaigh Mhara or the fishing industry.