Vol. 502 No. 5
1 Mr. Finucane asked the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources if his attention has been drawn to the serious concern of Irish fishermen about the proposals before the Fisheries Council meeting of 30 March 1999 regarding the fleet requirements and the necessity to find 30 per cent additional capacity tonnage when purchasing new or second-hand vessels. [8504/99]
I have fundamental problems, in principle and in practice, with the Commission's proposed terms and conditions for grant aiding fleet renewal under the next round of Structural Funds 2000-2006.
The Commission's proposals include a 130 per cent tonnage replacement requirement as a precondition for grant aiding the introduction of new and second-hand vessels. The Commission is also proposing a number of other restrictive fleet capacity management measures in the financial regulation, including an effective ban on the trading of fishing vessels within the EU fleet. Essentially the Commission is seeking to set fleet capacity parameters which are much more restrictive than the MGP IV fleet programme framework which was agreed by Council in 1997. It also seeks to pre-empt, in my view, future decisions by Council about the nature and framework of the next fleet programme – MGP V – for the period after 2001.
Ireland and other member states agree that the funding of fleet modernisation and renewal in the next round should, as is the case at present, be subject to member states meeting their obligations in relation to fleet capacity and fishing effort under the MGP programmes. To that extent, the funding proposals should indeed take due account of the existing MGP Council decisions and parameters laid down in the individual fleet programme of member states.
It is not acceptable for the Commission in its financial regulations to try to rewrite the 1997 Council Decision on MGP IV and to pre-empt political negotiations and decisions on the parameters for the next MGP which will be determined in 2001. In discussions to date at official level in Brussels on the Commission's proposals, Ireland together with a number of other member states has strongly opposed the restrictive fleet proposals and in particular the 130 per cent capacity cut as completely unacceptable. There will be an initial debate by Ministers at next week's Fisheries Council on the key issues of the Commission's proposed regulation. I will be making clear my opposition to the fleet provisions and I will be looking for support from like-minded colleagues in urging the Presidency and the Commission to think again.
The fishing industry organisations have been fully briefed on the proposals and I know that I have their full support in opposing these unduly restrictive measures. My objective is to ensure continued support for the modernisation and renewal of the Irish whitefish fleet in particular, in line with our obligations under MGP IV and, in due course, MGP V when this is negotiated and agreed by the Council of Ministers. The rules governing EU and national support for fleet renewal in the next Structural Funds round should fully reflect existing fleet capacity parameters under MGP IV. They should not, however, attempt to rewrite or pre-empt past or future Council decisions on the direction of fleet policy. I am sure I will have the full backing of the House in resisting the Commission's proposals.
I welcome the Minister's positive response. I have been approached by fishermen who have expressed their concern on this matter. Will the Minister confirm, should this measure be agreed, that it would cost in the region of £2,500 per tonne to purchase additional capacity and this would drive fishermen out of the business? The Minister has brought forward the whitefish renewal package but we have to continue the momentum from the year 2000 for further improvements of the vessels. Will the Minister confirm that his approach has the sup port of Spain and Portugal and other fishing countries?
We are attempting at this stage to get as wide support as possible for our approach. I agree with the Deputy it would be disastrous for the Irish fleet if we had to accept a 130 per cent reduction for a new or second-hand vessel, especially at the stage the Irish fleet is at present. It emphasises all the more the need to press ahead with the modernisation of the fleet urgently. The Government gave a three year period, looking at the tax situation, for modernisation and development. We will have to go beyond that with continuing development. I do not accept this proposal. It would drive up the cost of tonnage and would make matters impossible for the fishing industry. It is totally unacceptable.
At Council meetings we have three votes out of 87, therefore we need the support of other member states. Will the Minister indicate the other like-minded member states that feel strong about the proposal? For example, may I deduce that Spain, with 20,000 fishing vessels, would be opposed to this measure, as well as Portugal, another strong fishing economy? We need to be confident that Ireland is not an isolated voice when this matter is discussed.
There is no doubt that there is a good deal of support for the line we are taking. I do not expect to have great difficulty on that front. The proposal will be very vigorously opposed and debated next week. We have to wait to see what way the support shapes up when we come to the table. We will be there the night before and we will have meetings to try to consolidate support for our approach. I think we will find widespread support among the fishing community generally.
Will the Minister outline the like-minded member states that will support his position? It would be good to have a feel for the position of countries with large voting blocs, as we would have a healthy indication of how successful the Minister could be?
The discussions in that respect have been preliminary and are consolidating at this time. The indications are that we have support from Spain, Italy and other countries.
