Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 28 January 2021
348. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the steps he is taking to ensure there is an equitable level of representation of all sectors of the seafood industry on the task force he recently announced particularly the Inshore fishing sector which accounts for the majority of the wild capture sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4938/21]
View answerOn 21 January, I announced in the Dáil my intention to set up a task force involving seafood industry representatives and representatives of other stakeholders to provide recommendations to me on the appropriate measures that will best support the sector and the local coastal communities with the impacts of the quota cuts.
My Department is urgently preparing the Terms of Reference for this Task Force and I will be ensuring a broad representation of our seafood sector, as it is important that there is full buy-in to the process. I will be asking the task force to immediately focus on arrangements for the Fleet Temporary Tie-up Scheme, so that it can be ready to go live as soon as it is needed.
I also expect that the Task Force will provide prioritised recommendations on a range of other appropriate measures that will allow our seafood sector and coastal communities to adjust to the impacts of the quota reductions.
