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Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 26 Mar 2002

Vol. 551 No. 2

Adjournment Debate. - Fishing Fleet Development.

I am delighted to raise this issue but I am disappointed that neither the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources nor the Minister for Finance are present. They will have the opportunity to read what I say and I will pursue them on it later. When I was elected to the Dáil in 1996, I asked myself how we could call Ireland an island nation, as we were not prepared to invest in marine infrastructure. As an Opposition Deputy, I implored the then Government to increase investment, but to no avail. I am glad to say that things have changed since Fianna Fáil entered Government in 1997. In the past five years, €67,868,000 has been allocated by the Department of the Marine and Natural Resources for coastal protection, fishery harbours, commercial harbours, afforestation, peat development, sea processing, fishery development initiatives, ice plant infrastructure, aquaculture development, coastguard fishery development under INTERREG II and inland fisheries in County Donegal.

When I became a member of Donegal County Council seven years ago, I stood near Carrickrory Harbour and observed a pier which had fallen into the sea. I was told it could not be repaired as only £50,000 had been allocated for all the piers and harbours in the county. Major works are now under way, however, in Bunnagee, Buncrana, Carrickrory, Greencastle, Inch, Lag, Leenan, Moville, Portleen, Portmore and Portronan and many other developments have been commenced. A car ferry will soon travel between Rathmullan and Buncrana and another will be provided to serve the route between Magilligan Point and Greencastle as a result of my lobbying. I am delighted with the amount of money which has been invested in the National Fishery Training College and the emergency services. I welcomed the marine seminar in Donegal which examined job opportunities.

I wish to raise an issue of equal importance with which I am not so satisfied. I ask that the successful boats under the fishing fleet development initiative be announced. The initiative was commenced under the national development plan and Bord Iascaigh Mhara has advanced it to the stage where we should soon be in a position to announce successful applicants. I wish to declare an interest by pointing out that at least ten voters in my immediate area of County Donegal have made applications under the scheme and I hope they will be successful. A total of 38 applications were made in County Donegal – 22 in inshore and 16 bigger boats. The boats are getting more expensive by the day as they remain on the waiting list for sanctioning. The delay in announcing the successful applications means that it will become more and more difficult to hold boat builders to contracts, as quotes that were made some time ago may be revised or reviewed.

Inshore fishermen have had many problems in the recent past and it has been a poor year in many respects for them. That there were so many applications under this scheme shows it has been as good a success as the whitefish renewal scheme, for which fishermen in Greencastle fought for many years and which was ignored until this Government came to power in 1997. The problem with the whitefish renewal scheme at the time was that it was oversubscribed; there was an overuse of initiative by fishermen. We overcame such difficulties and succeeded in getting extra money and boats and there are now six boats in Greencastle and 16 in Donegal. I presume there will be more approvals and more money, which is great from a marine perspective, but it is a shame that they have not yet been announced. The Minister for Finance should see this as a golden opportunity.

The Council of Ministers' decision last December to allow fishermen to fish under derogation represents a wonderful chance for us to expand our fleet. The date of 17 June is looming and if we do not move on this scheme, the opportunity will be lost forever. Europe is prepared to give us the majority of the money in State aid and the Exchequer will have to provide only €1.9 million, although I am open to correction on that. A small amount of money from national funding would lead to much more from Europe. Many people have decided to put their money where their mouth is and apply for new boats. We should encourage people to invest in safer boats. Our boat building industry would also benefit, for example in Greencastle where there is a renowned facility. Jobs are very important in my part of the world and we should support them where possible. If we reward those who show initiative now, they will respond in kind. This fisheries fleet development measure is potentially as successful as the whitefish renewal scheme.

There is a future for our island nation. Having done so much for commercial fishermen and the emergency services in the past five years, including the rescue co-ordination centre in Malin Head, we should not step back at this stage. Money is being provided for marinas on the Foyle and the Swilly. The fishing fleet development initiative deserves extra funds. A small investment will lead to much more funds from Europe. The individuals who have applied should be rewarded. I ask the Minister of State, Deputy Moffatt, to raise this matter with the Minister for Finance to ensure jobs are created in boat construction. No more time should be wasted in announcing the successful applicants if we are to ensure they do not become more expensive. We must not have further delays which may threaten the existence of this scheme, which is too important an opportunity to miss. An additional 38 boats in the fleet would be invaluable to the coastal community of Donegal. I appreciate the opportunity to raise this matter and I thank the Chair.

I thank Deputy Keaveney for raising this matter on the Adjournment. The Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources regrets that he cannot be here to speak on this debate.

I wish to inform the House of the progress of the Government's whitefish fleet development programme, which forms part of the national development plan. The programme is designed to promote investment of €695 million in Ireland's whitefish fleet and is supported, over its lifetime, by Government and EU grant aid of almost €27 million. The core objectives of the initiative, which is administered by Bord Iascaigh Mhara, are to enhance the safety, quality and competitiveness of the whitefish fleet and to improve working conditions, product handling and quality. The programme provides grant support for the introduction of new vessels and modern second-hand vessels, for the modernisation of existing vessels and for the purchase and installation of safety equipment. Special assistance is available for young fishermen and women acquiring their first vessel. The initiative will build on the success of the Government's €100 million whitefish fleet renewal programme, under which 33 new vessels and 11 second-hand vessels entered the fleet, approvals for safety and lifesaving equipment grants were given for the benefit of 600 vessels and 299 vessels were modernised.

The Minister, Deputy Fahey, was pleased to announce the first round of approvals under the safety equipment scheme, involving an investment of €400,000 to fit almost 750 items of vital lifesaving, firefighting and safety equipment on 36 vessels. Further applications under the safety equipment scheme have been received and are being assessed by BIM. Applications for the modernisation of existing vessels have been assessed by the board. Following examination of the proposed timescale for completion of these projects and the annual funding profile of the national development plan, the Minister expects to announce the approval of successful applicants soon. Applications for grant aid for the introduction of new and modern second-hand vessels and under the special scheme for young fishermen and women acquiring their first vessel are being processed. The timescale for assessment and processing of applications is in line with profiled expenditure under the national development plan.

It is not possible to definitively quantify the final number of new or secondhand vessels which will be assisted under the programme as this critically depends on the level of applications for all schemes over the programme and the available funding. As the Deputy will appreciate, the programme in relation to vessel introduction schemes has attracted a larger number of applications than anticipated and is essentially oversubscribed. In this situation, careful consideration of the applications as regards the eligibility and ranking criteria is a vital part of the assessment process. It is also essential to ensure that the completion dates for projects involving significant capital expenditure on the part of applicants and which, consequently, are grant aid intensive, are aligned with the funding profile of the programme under the NDP.

In this regard, the Minister contacted the Minister for Finance and his officials have opened discussion with the Department of Finance in relation to aligning the proposed roll out of projects with the funding profile for the NDP for each of the years over the lifetime of the programme. The Minister assures the house of his commitment and that of the Department and BIM to delivering on the core competitiveness, efficiency and safety objectives of the Government's fleet development measure.

The Dáil adjourned at 9.15 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Wednesday, 27 March 2002.

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