The Minister will know that for the past three or four weeks the fishing community in Howth in my constituency, the premier east coast fishing port, has been in total disarray. The livelihood of the skippers and crews of between 15 to 20 boats, perhaps up to 500 to 800 people in total, has been diminished by the events of the past number of weeks. Howth is famous for its prawn fishery but this area is now impossible to fish. During another debate I asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs to consider coming up with an urgent rescue plan for the fishermen and families of Howth in conjunction with the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources.
Sadly, the events of the past number of weeks have displayed the gross incompetence of my constituency colleague, the Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Woods, who held the marine and natural resources portfolio at that time. If we compare his performance with that of the Northern Ireland Minister, Ms Bríd Rodgers, and the deal she got for Portavogie and the Northern ports, we realise that the Minister, Deputy Woods, got a disastrous result for the fishermen of Howth.
The Howth fishermen have long understood the need for conservation. I have the lengthy report they submitted a number of years ago demanding conservation of the Irish Sea cod fishery and which became a basis for the Irish Sea cod recovery plan. There were discussions in Brussels at DG XIV at which a number of our fishermen were represented. Unfortunately, they came home to find that a large box in the Irish Sea, with which the Minister is familiar, encompassing the whole north Dublin coast and three hours sailing off the Howth peninsula was closed to them even though it was the main source for their livelihood. It is a disastrous situation. The key problem is the overlapping of the prawn and cod fisheries but whatever way one looks at it, the livelihood of dozens of families in an important part of my constituency has been removed.
As Deputy Seán Ryan said when he raised this issue in respect of north county Dublin fishermen a few weeks ago, there is also a key safety issue. The Minister is effectively asking the fishermen of Howth, in their small 50 to 70 foot open decked boats, to sail for at least three hours to the open prawn grounds. This is extremely dangerous because if bad weather blows up, they are three hours sailing time from safety. Fishing has always been a dangerous job and one of the monuments in Howth, on Harbour Road, is dedicated to the many fishermen who died trying to earn a living over the past number of decades.
The situation is now impossible. The Minister and his predecessor are asking these men to risk their lives. We urgently need a major compensation package at least based on the average industrial wage and on incomes for comparable periods last year. I ask the Minister to get together with the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs to bring forward a compensation package as soon as possible for my constituents who have no livelihood until early May. It is a disastrous result for the people of Howth and the fishing industry there. It is the number one port on the east coast and the number one shell fish port in Ireland. I ask the Minister of State, Deputy Byrne, to convey to the Minister, Deputy Fahey, the urgent need to bring in a compensation package and not to leave these men and women and their families without a livelihood over the next three months.