Vol. 414 No. 4
15 Tomás Mac Giolla asked the Minister for the Marine the number of regional fishery boards which have indicated to his Department that they are not prepared to nominate trustees to the new fishing co-operatives planned under the Fisheries (Amendment) Act, 1991; if he will outline the implications of such a decision; when it is expected that the co-operatives will be established and operating; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I should explain to the Deputy that under the Fisheries (Amendment) Act, 1991, the power is vested solely in the Minister for the Marine to appoint pending election all the trustees of the fishing co-operative societies.
While there is no requirement under the Act on the Minister to consult with any other parties in making those appointments, I decided some months ago that it would be useful and helpful — apart from being democratic — if, when I come to finalise the appointments, I had before me any suggestions which the fishery boards and angling organisations might care to make. Thus, they were invited — and I would stress that this was by way of courtesy — to forward any names they might wish to have considered.
I am glad to say that I have received a large number of suggestions from both angling organisations and fishery boards. I wish to acknowledge and express my appreciation of this positive response. I am satisfied that a sufficient pool of eminently qualified and suitable individuals, together with other nominations I may wish to consider, is available to me for consideration for appointment as trustees.
Five of the fishery boards submitted names. These were the Northern, North-Western, Southern, South-Western and Shannon boards. Suggestions were not received from two fishery boards, the Eastern and Western boards. I am given to understand that the Central Fisheries Board did not submit names and that the reason they did not was on the basis that as there is to be no national co-operative, it was more appropriate for the regional fishery boards to nominate persons to be trustees of the co-operatives within their regions. In any event, I would attach no significance to the fact that the two boards did not submit nominations, and there are no wider implications involved. I have received very valuable advice from two of those boards on the rules to be applied to the societies. I am grateful for their assistance in this regard.
As regards the setting up of the co-operatives, my objective is to have these in place for 1992. In this respect the detailed arrangements are at present being finalised.
The Minister's reply disguises the fact that the Eastern and Western Fishery Boards did not nominate trustees because of their unhappiness with the proposed fishery co-operatives and that a number of the other fishery boards also expressed their criticism of the proposed fishery co-operatives. Would the Minister agree that it is a very inauspicious start to the fishery co-operatives arrangement under the Fisheries (Amendment) Act 1991 that the regional fishery boards, who have central responsibility in this area, are expressing such a degree of criticism and unwillingness to make nominations of trustees at this early stage; that in fact his proposed co-operatives will collapse, as predicted by this side of the House when that Bill was being debated here?
If they are unhappy, as the Deputy says, they have managed to conceal that unhappiness from me. If people are willing and anxious to send me detailed suggestions with regard to rules I cannot see how the Deputy can interpret that as not being happy with the arrangement. The Deputy is of the O'Hanrahan school of prophets — that we will all be dead before the year is out.
I am afraid the Minister has not replied to the question. We all made suggestions about rules and so on but that does not convey a degree of happiness. Would the Minister agree that both the Eastern and the Western Fishery Boards pointedly declined to make nominations of trustees; that the Eastern Fishery Board, the largest board, and the Western Fishery Board — where the whole row over the rod licence was centred — not making submissions is a very bad start to the implementation of the provisions of the Bill he presented to this House and attempted to persuade us all here was such a fine piece of work?
The Deputy is a very eloquent young Deputy and is doing his best to drum up something out of nothing, which is not in accordance with reality. I will prove that to him as well.
Time will tell.
That disposes of questions for today.
