asked the Minister for Fisheries and Forestry if he has any proposals for the development of the Dublin Fish Market and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Ceisteanna—Questions Oral Answers. - Dublin Fish Market.
11.
Dublin Corporation and the authority responsible for the maintenance and operation of the Dublin Fish Market and I have no direct functions in the matter. In the interest of the fishing industry, however, I am arranging to take up with the corporation shortly the question as to what measures can be taken by the corporation to improve the facilities at the market.
Can the Minister indicate whether he visited the market recently and can he give an outline of the changes he would consider necessary in order to modernise conditions there?
I spent a morning at the market, from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m., to see for myself how the market functions. I was very disappointed at the condition of the place. Hygiene conditions there are very much substandard. It is not for me to decide the changes that are required there but the place is in need of a fundamental overhaul. I have contacted Dublin Corporation with a view to their improving the condition of the market.
Can the Minister indicate whether he will be providing some funding to enable the work he considers necessary to be carried out and can he give any indication also of what his priorities in this matter are?
The matter is not within the responsibility of my Department.
But will the Minister provide the funds to enable the necessary works to be undertaken?
There are no funds available for such works so far as my Department are concerned.
Why, then, did the Minister visit the market?
The market is used also for the sale of fruit and vegetables by the people of the area and the responsibility for improving the conditions rests with the corporation.
Would the Minister accept that the Department have some responsibility in relation to the way in which fish is distributed and presented for sale? He has seen for himself that the state of the market leaves much to be desired. Is it not for him to take some initiative by way of trying to bring about an improvement in conditions there? I raised this question a long time ago but my efforts were knocked by all sides in the House.
I have taken the initiative of visiting the market and following that visit I contacted the responsible authority who are Dublin Corporation, but I have not yet received a reply from them to my representations.
Can the Minister give any indication of what he considers should be done to bring about the desired conditions? Is he prepared, for instance, to back up his visit with some financial assistance so that some worthwhile work might be done at the market? If the Minister cannot give any such commitment, his visit will have been no more than a public relations exercise.
Dublin Corporation impose a charge on everyone who operates in the market and it is a matter for the corporation to make arrangements regarding the finances that are necessary to allow the necessary works to be carried out there. We have no function in the matter of financing in this respect.