Tairgim go léifear an Bille den Dara Uair. Is é an rud is sonntasaí i dtaobh an iascaigh in Éirinn go dtagann rath air le linn cogaidh agus go mbíonn meath air aimsir shíochána. Rinneadh saibhreas le linn an chéad chogaidh mhóir nuair nach rabh ag formhór na n-iascairí ach báid sheoil.
Bhí tóir mhór ar a rabh de bhia is de bheatha dá sholáthar anseo. Bhí na hiascairí ag soláthar gan mórán stró mar bhíodh neart éisc cois chladaigh. Bíonn sé amhlaidh amh chogaid, mar ní bhíonn na trollaerí mhóra de chuid Shasana nó na dtíortha eile in Iarthar Eorpa ag iascach, faitíos a gcur síos go grinneall ag an namhaid nó i ngeall ar iad a bheith tógtha anonn ag an gcabhlach chogaidh. Le linn an chogaidh dheiridh tháinig rath ar an iascach tar éis dó bheith in ísle brí idir an dá chogadh. In aimsir chogaidh mar sin bíonn tóir agus tógáil, marú agus margadh ag obair as láimh a chéile i dtionscal an iascaigh le go mbíonn brabach ag an iascaire. Is mór an scéal é go gcuireann an tsíocháin ruaig ar rath na hiascaireachta in Éirinn, ach ba mar sin a bhí ó naoi gcéad déag is a ceathar déag i leith. I ndiaidh an chéad chogaidh domhanda leagadh na báid suas ar an duirlinn nó gur lobhadar.
Le breith ar an aiféal cuireadh an Comhlachas Iascaigh Mhara ar bun i naoi gcéad déag tríocha a haon. D'athraigh an Comhlachas an modh oibre a bhí ann cheana. Tugadh báid amach ar roinnt airgid síos, díoladh an t-iasc ar son an iascaire agus coinníodh an oiread seo den toradh i gcoinne costas an bháid. D'oibrigh an scéim go cuíosach maith agus níl sé á chaitheamh i leath-taoibh faoin mBille seo.
An chuid is mó de na cumhachtaí atá tugtha don Bhord faoín mBille tá siad cheana ag Coiste an Comhlachais Iascaigh Mhara, ach taispeánadh in imeacht aimsire go dteastaíonn eagar nua ó lucht na hiascaireachta lena gcur i bhfeidhm go héifeachtúil agus leis an toradh is fearr a bhaint astu ar son an phobail is na n-iascairí.
Sin é díreach an rud atá beartaithe sa mBille seo, eagar nua a chur ar an iascaireacht agus barr feabhais a chur uirthi, i riocht is go mbeidh slí maireachtála níos fearr ag na fir agus go mbeidh díol tíre den iasc le fáil againn ón ár n-iascairí féin.
In general, the objects of the Bill may be stated as the reorganisation of the sea-fishing industry particularly in regard to the functions previously discharged by the Sea Fisheries Association and the exercise of control over marketing of home landings so that the best returns possible may be secured by the fishermen while ensuring that whatever fish is available is distributed in the best possible manner to meet the needs of the consumer public. Since I assumed office in June last, I have been in touch through personal contacts and correspondence with the different branches of the industry, particularly the fishermen grouped together in fishing centres around our coasts. I have found among all persons who have a stake in the welfare of the industry the conviction that our inshore fishing industry has reached the end of a stage of development and that special measures are required to fit the industry for further progress in the new conditions and circumstances which it is clear will apply in years to come.
I have considered fully the many views which have been put before me and I have had this Bill drawn up to include all suggestions and proposals which I consider would contribute in practice to the further development of the industry.
It is hoped that the Bill when enacted will enable the sea-fishing industry to be developed so that it may ultimately be expected to meet in full the home consumer demand for fresh and cured fish and provide, perhaps, a surplus for export and raw material for ancillary industries such as fish-meal manufacture. I must emphasise, however, that in my view, and in the view of the Government, the governing factor in any reorganisation scheme must be the welfare of the inshore fishing communities scattered around our coasts, many in Irish-speaking districts, who depend solely, or to a major degree, on fishing for a living. It would not be possible, mainly owing to lack of suitable harbour accommodation, to equip all such communities with larger type boats of a wide range of activities, but well organised shore services in the spheres of marketing, cold storage, curing and distribution would enable small efficient boats fishing in local waters to make a substantial contribution towards meeting the country's fish requirements and provide an adequate living for local fishing communities.
In order to understand the need for the Bill, I think it would help Deputies if I gave, in brief outline, the principal developments in the inshore fishing industry which have led to its present position. In 1931 the Sea Fisheries Association was established in an effort to arrest the serious decline which the sea-fishing industry had experienced since the close of the first world war. During that war the industry had experienced something in the nature of a boom, but, with the return of the British fishing fleet, the demand for Irish-caught fish in Great Britain and the home market in this country (imports were free of all restrictions at that time), the landings of our fishermen did not find a ready sale and prices took a very heavy fall. This development, which applied mainly to demersal or white fish, was unfortunately, accompanied by lean years as regards the quantities of herrings and mackerel which visited our shores. The failure of the herrings and mackerel to come affected part-time fishermen particularly, and the general picture in 1931 was that most of the fishermen, particularly the younger men, had become completely discouraged, and abandoned fishing boats were a common sight on the shores and in the harbours around the coast.
With the establishment of the Sea Fisheries Association, new hope was given to the industry, and it can be said that the decline was immediately arrested to some extent, at any rate. The majority of the fishermen, however, still based their hopes on herrings and mackerel, as their predecessors had done for many years before.
Two developments, however, unfortunately took place in the early thirties which made it clear that the future of the Irish fishing industry could not at that time, if, indeed, ever again, be based in the main on herrings and mackerel. The U.S.A. market for pickled mackerel underwent serious changes—the taste for pickled fish in that country declined due to competition from fish processed by quick-freezing and packaging; the landings of mackerel by American fishermen greatly increased and were almost sufficient to cater for the American demand for such fish; and the U.S.A. Government placed an import duty on pickled mackerel to protect the landings of the American fishermen. As regards herrings, in the early 'thirties the British Government decided, in order to maintain and develop their own herring fisheries, to establish a herring marketing board. This board supervised and regulated the herring fisheries in the United Kingdom right through from the payment of fixed prices to the fishermen to the marketing of the processed herring both smoked and pickled. The board confined its efforts strictly to the United Kingdom, with the result that there was no demand among British curers for herrings landed in this country. Furthermore, with the adoption of policies of self-sufficiency in Germany, Poland and some other parts of eastern Europe, which for a long time had been useful outlets for Irish pickled herring, the demand for the Irish product overseas almost entirely disappeared.
The change in the herring and mackerel situation made it clear that efforts to revive the Irish fishing industry must be based on the production of white fish (i.e., flat fish and round fish other than herrings and mackerel). It was considered that the first step in this direction must be the provision of a secure basic market at home and, accordingly, in 1938, as part of the trade agreement made in that year with the United Kingdom imports of white fish were subjected to quantitative restriction. This had immediate effect in improving home landings. With the outbreak of war, however, the position completely changed. Imports from Great Britain ceased and a keen demand arose in that market for almost any kind of fish which we could send across. The reduction in the activities of the British fishing fleets also resulted in better supplies of fish being available within the reach of our inshore fishing boats inasmuch as there was a constant overflow of fish to our coastal waters from the distant fishing grounds which had been previously frequented by the British fishing fleets and which were now deserted.
Every boat around our coast which was in anything like a serviceable condition was put to sea and young men turned back to the industry as a source of a worthwhile livelihood. When hostilities ended in 1945 our inshore fishing industry was in a much stronger and healthier state than in 1938. The following figures indicate the development that had taken place. The landings of white fish by inshore boats in 1945 came to 150,174 cwt. compared with 57,359 cwt. in 1938. The total number of boats engaged had increased from 2,639 in 1938 to 3,472 in 1945, while the number of men wholly employed in the industry increased from 1,463 to 1,886 and those partially employed from 5,888 to 8,191. Imports in 1945 were negligible while about 40,000 cwt. of white fish were exported.
The industry maintained its position, especially as regards white fish landings, up to 1949, but for the past two years quite a considerable drop has taken place in the landings of such fish, while the landings of herring and mackerel which, as everybody knows, are fortuitous inasmuch as the shoaling of these fish within reach of our inshore fleets is not a regular annual occurrence, were also very disappointing. Every effort has been made in post-war years by the Sea Fisheries Association to refit the industry as far as possible with more efficient boats.
The association's efforts, however, were limited to the extent of the availability of marine engines and the number of new boats, in the circumstances, which it was possible to supply was not as large as had been hoped for when the war ended. In 1950 and 1951 the number of motor boats in service was higher than in 1947, but, despite that fact, the landings of white fish fell very considerably compared with 1947. The main factor which is generally accepted as contributing to the decline in landings is the reduced catches per unit of fishing time obtained by our fishermen on the inshore ground. A shortage of almost all the better classes of fish has become evident on these grounds and has been attributed to the very intensive activities of foreign deep-sea vessels on the fishing grounds around our coasts (but well outside our exclusive fishery limits) from which a regular overflow was available in previous years. In these circumstances, it seems clear that if home landings are to be maintained and expanded it will be necessary to employ a number of larger boats capable of exploiting the deep-sea waters which are at present outside the scope of our fishing fleets. This aspect of the situation has been kept in mind in drawing up the Bill, but it must be emphasised that the extent to which deep-sea fishing vessels can be employed must be governed by the policy that the interests of the inshore fishermen are paramount.
It is expected that the new authority to be established in place of the present Sea Fisheries Association will be able to arrange that while the landings of the deep-sea boats will be in a sense complementary to the landings of the inshore boats, a regular and adequate supply of fish may be available to consumers throughout the year.
I do not think that it is necessary for me to say any more as to the present position, and I will now indicate to the House the main provisions of the Bill and the purposes which they are intended to serve as well as the objects which they are expected to achieve.
Part I of the Bill, containing what may be described as the usual routine provisions, does not, I think, call for any amplification at this stage at any rate. Turning to Part II we come to some of the cardinal points of the proposed scheme of reorganisation. It is intended to give the fishery authority power to regulate the landing and sale, as well as the intermediate stages of handling and processing, of fish of all kinds, with a view to securing improved marketing and disposal of supplies. Gutting of certain kinds of fish on board ship might, for example, have to be insisted upon and conservation of fish waste and occasional fish gluts for diversion to fish-meal manufacture might have to be seen to.
The domestic home market will be reserved to Irish fishermen by the enactment of an obligation to license, under prescribed conditions, every vessel exceeding 35 ft. overall used for commercial fishing. Under the prescribed conditions, large type fishing boats could be excluded from certain fishing grounds which are regularly worked by the smaller type of inshore fishing boat and the Irish stocks of which might be seriously depleted if large boats were to continue to be allowed to exploit them. The licensing provision would restrict sea-fishing operations to boats in full Irish ownership, but this restriction is loosened to the extent of allowing boats already registered here to continue fishing operations. Some of these latter boats make a useful contribution at present to the fish supply position and, moreover, the exemption clause in their favour obviates any question arising as to compensation.
It is further stipulated that landings made by vessels owned by persons who are engaged in either the wholesale or retail trade of fresh fish shall be made available to the trade at large through the medium of the new board proposed to be set up under Part III. A stipulation of this kind, in my opinion, is necessary for the orderly marketing of fish in the interests of the inshore fishermen and to ensure that their landings will not be placed at a disadvantage. It is envisaged that the new board will themselves engage in sea-fishing operations on distant ground, so as to supplement the efforts of the inshore fishermen.
As regards the new board to be set up under Part III, I am satisfied that the full development of the sea-fishing industry should be entrusted to a special body—more particularly dealt with in the First Schedule to the Bill— operating generally on the lines of the existing Sea Fisheries Association, but with much increased responsibilities. The new body would take over the assets, liabilities, powers and functions of the Sea Fisheries Association and would, in addition, be charged with the responsibility for the operation of a fleet of large-type motor fishing vessels, which must be employed to supplement the landings of the inshore fishermen. It would also have to deal with the landings made by fishing vessels, the owners of which engage in the wholesale or retail sale of fresh fish.
It will be a special duty of the new body to develop markets, both domestic and export, and also to help to the greatest extent possible in having fish surplus to the needs of the fresh trade and excess supplies of fish of low marketable quality dealt with by curing or as raw material for ancillary industries. There is need at present for exploratory or experimental work with new types of boats and equipment, the investigation of new fishing grounds which could be worked by inshore boats and for the introduction of new methods for the processing of fish.
The Sea Fisheries Association as at present constituted could not be expected to undertake these new functions, in addition to carrying on its present wide activities, with any prospect of success. The existing control is by a committee of eight directors, four nominees of the Minister and four elected by the members. As three at least of the elected members must reside at a distance from Dublin under the present system of election, it has not been found possible to have the business of the association dealt with as expeditiously as would be desired.
In the circumstances, it is necessary, without departing in essentials from the existing procedure governing the supply of boats and gear as well as the marketing of catches on a co-operative basis, to substitute for the existing control a directing authority more constantly available and more immediately answerable to the Minister for the discharge of its duties. The new body would consist of a chairman and five other members, all on a part-time basis, all nominated by the Minister and paid such fees as may be approved by the Minister for Finance. The board would meet as often as necessary, probably as frequently as once in every week.
The present association would under Part IV of the Bill be made to cease functioning and would be replaced by a body styled "An Comhlachas Iascaigh Mhara," the composition of which, regulation of its procedure, etc., is provided for in the Second Schedule. The aim in establishing this association is to give the fishermen and the other interests in the fishing industry a voice in its development. The functions of the new body would be to recommend schemes of development to the new board and to make representations on matters generally appertaining to the improvement of the industry.
Membership of the association would be open to any person engaged in sea-fishing or in the distributive fish trade, and each member would be required to pay a registration fee of 1/-, plus an annual membership charge of 5/-. The association would be controlled by a committee of eight persons, including a chairman, elected triennially by the members. The fishermen would have four representatives, the wholesale fish trade two, and the retail fish trade two. No remuneration would be paid to the members of the committee but necessary expenses arising from the functioning of the association would be paid by the board, subject to the prior approval of the board for the expenditure having been obtained.
Part VI of the Bill, which prohibits, except under licence, the sale by auction of fresh fish, is drawn on substantially the same lines as Part III of the Sea Fisheries Act, 1931, which is now being repealed. Part III of that Statute was never applied to any area of the State as it was apprehended that the specific ineligibility under one of its provisions for grant of licence to persons employed, engaged or otherwise concerned in the sea-fishing industry would have had undesirable repercussions for the fishermen. All the wholesalers on the Dublin market have interests other than auctioneering. Some of them own or have shares in boats and retail shops, while all of them smoke and otherwise cure large quantities of fish for the home and export markets. It is generally recognised that they must be in the curing business so that they may be in a position to buy in at a fair price any fish sent to them for sale and left on their hands unsold.
I do not think that system can be changed without serious loss to the fishermen, and accordingly the restrictive clause in question is removed in Part VI of the present Bill. This Part, like Part III of the 1931 Act, provides that it may be applied by Order to any particular area, but an exception is made in the case of persons who auction fresh fish, such as herrings and mackerel, at the place of landing, as such persons were never regarded as auctioneers in the wider sense of the term. Licences shall be issued on such conditions as the fishery authority may consider expedient or necessary. Power is given to revoke a licence where the holder is convicted of any breach of the provisions of the Bill, or any of the Fisheries Acts, or is convicted of an offence involving fraud, dishonesty, or breach of trust.
