Vol. 482 No. 7
46 Mr. J. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources his views on the urgency of modernising our white fish fleet; and whether the necessary additional EU and Exchequer funding and other measures are currently in place to achieve this objective. [19002/97]
The Government's Action Programme for the Millennium, commits to modernising the fishing fleet, and since my appointment as Minister I have been working to deliver on that commitment as quickly as possible. I announced two weeks ago a new round of Exchequer and EU supported investment of £11 million in the modernisation of the fishing fleet. The package provides some £3.5 million in EU and Exchequer grant aid for 112 fleet modernisation projects under Ireland's Operational Programme for Fisheries. This investment is aimed primarily at the whitefish fleet to enhance safety, quality and competitiveness in the sector.
In addition to my plans for a capital grant aid scheme for a number of new whitefish boats which are currently being finalised, I am pursuing other options to facilitate and attract investment in the fleet, in line with the Action Programme for the Millennium which gives a specific commitment to making the industry attractive to providers of capital by examining the provision of fiscal incentives. My aim in progressing the various initiatives which I have outlined is to achieve a significant turnaround of the whitefish fleet.
