I propose to take Questions Nos. 14, 39 and 58 together.
I am very aware of the grave consequences for the Irish fishing industry and particularly for employment in the industry should reductions of the order now being contemplated by the EC Commission be implemented. At this juncture I am in fundamental disagreement with the Commission on its proposals to further reduce the already decimated Irish fishing fleet and will continue to oppose the proposals until a satisfactory resolution of this issue is achieved.
The Commission's decision on the transitional Multi Annual Guidance Programme for the Irish fishing fleet for 1992 requires an effective reduction of the order of 17 per cent in the capacity of the fleet by the end of the year.
This decision is totally unacceptable to me as it fails to adequately address the current capacity needs of the Irish fleet. Against the background of our being unable to take up our allocations of fish quotas because of insufficient fleet capacity, it is absurd in my view that the Commission should be attempting to further inhibit the catching capacity of our fleet. The Commission's proposals would inevitably lead to job losses in both the catching and processing sectors and to a sharp decline in economic activity in our coastal regions which are so dependent on fishing.
For these reasons, the Government in August last initiated court proceedings in the European Court of Justice. In our application lodged with the court, the Government have sought to have the Commission's transitional decision annulled.
The Commission's proposals on fleet reduction in the context of the Multi Annual Guidance Programme for the period 1993 to 1996 were considered at some length in the Council of Fisheries Ministers in Luxembourg on 19 October last. In these deliberations I made it abundantly clear that if acceptable fleet proposals for Ireland were not tabled by the Commission, the issue would have to be referred back for discussion at the next Council of Ministers meeting in November rather than be decided by the Commission. At my insistence the Council agreed that, in the interim, no decision would be taken which was at variance with the views of any individual member state concerned and that any such cases would be referred back to the next Council on the 23rd of this month.
This was an important breakthrough in procedure which effectively prevents fleet cuts being imposed by the Commission over the heads of member states. This will help towards obtaining a satisfactory resolution of Ireland's concerns.
I must stress, however, that we face a very tough battle on this issue. As part of the Commission's proposals to systematically reduce the size of the Community fleet to preserve stocks and regulate the level of fish catches in member states, a reduction of the order of 30 per cent is envisaged for the Irish fleet over the next four years. In Ireland's case such restrictions are totally unjustified since we do not have enough capacity to catch our existing quotas especially for the more lucrative whitefish. This represents a loss of up to £20 million annually to Irish Fishermen.
At the recent Council I renewed my demands for an increase for Ireland of at least 5,000 tonnes in the capacity of the fleet. This represents less than one quarter of one per cent of the total Community fleet. An increase of this order to an Objective One region would be insignificant in overall Community terms but to Ireland would represent a real improvement on the current unsatisfactory situation.
Finally, I would like to assure Deputies that I will continue at every opportunity to press Ireland's legitimate claims until a satisfactory solution is achieved. I will go to whatever lengths are necessary to achieve that result.