asked the Minister for the Marine the role he plans for BIM in view of the stated intention that his Department would co-ordinate the activities of BIM and other Government agencies involved in the market and promotion of fishery products; if market promotion and trade development will now be the responsibility of the commercial development division of his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - BIM.
8.
With the establishment of the new Department of the Marine it is my intention to review the functions of the various State agencies under the aegis of the Department. However An Bord Iascaigh Mhara will continue to engage in market promotion, both home and export, and in the case of the export market it will operate in close co-operation with Córas Tráchtála. The board will of course operate in accordance with the policies laid down by my Department.
In view of the Minister's stated priority — as quoted in The Irish Times of 7 April — to increase efficiency and dispense with duplication in BIM, I should like him to tell us how there will be increased efficiency and no duplication if he proposes to have CTT, Bord Iascaigh Mhara and Roinn na Mara involved in that area of the fishing industry? We will have three State agencies rather than one dabbling in this.
The framework for the new Department of the Marine was contained in the document the Deputy referred to earlier. One of the handicaps in the development of our marine resources has been the fragmentation of research and lack of a Department with responsibility for fisheries. We have identified the marine economy as an area with potential. That area has suffered in the past through fragmentation and, in some cases, overlapping and a waste of human and financial resources. The purpose of establishing the Department of the Marine was to avoid what the Deputy referred to. It is our wish to ensure that the fragmentation that has damaged the prospects of development of the industry will be avoided and that we will have a co-ordinated approach to the marine economy. The Deputy should bear in mind that we have been operating for just three weeks. We will proceed with establishing the structures we consider essential for the proper exploitation of the magnificent marine resources we have, something that has not been done before.
I find it difficult to understand how we will have increased efficiency and less duplication — I laud that as one of the Minister's priorities — if three State bodies, CTT, BIM and Roinn na Mara will have a role in the whole area of the market promotion and trade development of our fishing industry. Will the Minister elaborate on his new found faith in BIM's export marketing ability? Part of Fianna Fáil's proposals maintain that the industry was basically weak in their export marketing strategy. I would be delighted if there was efficiency and less duplication in this area. It has been neglected for many years. How will this come about if another tier of bureaucracy is added to the equation? Who relates to whom? Who is the boss, apart from the Minister?
The Deputy is losing sight of what I said in my reply. The whole purpose behind the establishment of this Department is to avoid unnecessary duplication. In some cases eight or nine different Departments were operating but there was no overall umbrella Department. We will review the various State agencies which have been engaged in different activities to ensure we avoid the duplication and fragmentation which has damaged the industry.
Will CTT or BIM do the marketing or will both of them do it?
Former Fine Gael Ministers moved fish marketing into CTT in an arbitrary fashion——
The Minister has rescinded that?
——without making any provision for it. The decision was made in a very high-handed fashion and contrasts with our proposal which is to examine each of the areas involved, to co-ordinate their efforts and develop an overall strategy under the umbrella of the Department of the Marine.
There is no doubt that we all welcome the establishment of the Department of the Marine. If all the Departments are to be absorbed into the Department of the Marine and yet remain autonomous in their own areas it simply will not work. Does the Minister intend to review the rules and regulations of the other organisations and alter them accordingly so that the operation will run under one Department?
It is early days to make decisions. We are looking at the various organisations to see how it will be possible to streamline their activities and get the desired results. Various proposals have been put forward. For example, in the area of finance for fishing boats and shipping finance it has been suggested it might be more advantageous to have a restructured financial agency. These matters are under discussion and I am not prepared to go further at this stage. It would not be advantageous to string along the different sections and knot them up together. The way forward is to ensure that we have a co-ordinated approach, through the new Department of the Marine, towards marine economy to enable us to exploit to the full the revenue and jobs which will be generated. We are an island nation, yet for the last 50 years the industry has not been developed to its maximum potential.