Vol. 454 No. 8
4 Mr. M. Smith asked the Minister for the Marine if he is accepting the proposal which was put forward by EU Agricultural Commissioner, Mr. Franz Fischler, which will force Irish fishermen to pay for hygiene checks. [11534/95]
I do not accept the Commission's proposal to introduce veterinary health fees for fishery products. I am glad that in the last two weeks the proposal has been taken off the veterinary agenda following strong opposition by Ireland supported by the UK. It is unlikely to surface again, if at all, for some considerable time.
In any event, I have fundamental concerns about extending the principle of charging for veterinary inspections at point of first sale to the fishing sector. Such charges have been introduced in the meat sector and this was the Commission's rationale for seeking to extend them to the fishing sector. The Agriculture Commissioner has, however, failed to recognise that the two sectors are not at all comparable in terms of structure and scale. The fishing industry is small and fragmented and there are over 1,000 landing places around the Irish coast. The administrative cost alone of collecting fees would be entirely disproportionate and the additional cost to the fishing industry would be considerable. Existing competitive disadvantages in the marketplace, through high transport costs, poor prices and competition from outside the EU, would only be exacerbated by introducing such a levy at a time when we are actively working to overcome these disadvantages.
I stress that the principle of the veterinary inspections as such in the fishing sector is not at issue. We are committed to the highest standards of health and hygiene for Irish fishery products and fully implement the relevant EU Directives, but the proposal did not take account of the unique needs and structures of the fishing industry and on that basis could not be justified.
As I said, however, the Commission has pulled back from the issue and I would certainly discourage reintroduction of the proposal in its present form.
I am delighted with the Minister's response. The proposed imposition, apart from creating an unnecessary layer of bureaucracy, would lead to an increase in the price of fish in the markets and probably to a loss of income to fishermen. It is important for the Minister to ensure that the Commission will keep this proposal off the table because estimates indicate a veterinary inspection would cost Irish fishermen in the region of £1 million. While I have no objection to the introduction of the best possible hygiene standards, and everybody here will support that, it is crucial that we do not introduce additional unnecessary burdens and bureaucracies into an industry which is facing mounting difficulties. Will the Minister continue to ensure that such proposals, which do not take into account peripheral countries like ours with many landing areas and small stocks, are not adopted in the future.
I can give the Deputy that assurance.
