Tairgim:
That a sum not exceeding £31,882,000 be granted to defray the charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of December, 1990, for the salaries and expenses of the Office of the Minister for the Marine, including certain services administered by that Office, and for payment of certain grants and sundry grants-in-aid.
The amount provided for in the Marine Vote this year represents a 17 per cent increase approximately over the provisional outturn given in the Book of Estimates for 1989 when the £90 million regarding the Irish Shipping reimbursement is included.
As I have very little time I want to say that the Government in their National Development Programme 1989-93 recognise the importance of the marine area and with State support and EC new Structural Funds intend to take advantage of this very important part of our economy.
The Department and BIM have a solid programme for advance in sea fisheries. It is our purpose to prepare the fish processing and marketing industry to compete successfully in the internal market when it is completed in 1992. Increased employment and productivity in fish processing and marketing generate economic growth in less developed peripheral coastal regions of the country and stimulate balanced and sustained growth in the Irish fishing industry in general in line with the objectives for the industry outlined in the National Development Plan 1989-1993.
We now have in place a whole range of programmes such as strengthened marketing, plant modernisation, aquaculture development and the provision of adequate infrastructure and facilities at ports and harbours to service the fishing industry. Many of these programmes have been submitted to the Community for aid and are designed to improve efficiency and competitiveness in the fishing sector. Substantial progress has already been made and we intend to continue that progress.
The emphasis will be on marketing shellfish, salmon and the very lucrative herring roe. We have developed a herring roe market in Japan. Herring roe of a fine quality is much appreciated by the Japanese and it is not purchased by them unless it is of top quality. We are also concentrating on trying to develop markets for new species to shift the industry away from a commodity basis to a valueadded basis.
In relation to our Presidency of the European Council we made significant progress on many of the international agreements necessary in EC activities particularly with regard to Canada and the newly independent Namibia, which has declared that the fishing waters around it are not open, without substantial research, to the European people who traditionally fished there.
A very important aspect of our deliberations during the period of the Presidency related to the integration of the German Democratic Republic in the common fishery area. Here I pay tribute to Dr. Van Gelderen the Minister for Fisheries of the Federal Republic of Germany who came to Dublin and in the Council indicated the Federal Republic of Germany view in relation to unification. There were problems considering that the East German fleet is one and a half to twice the size of the West German fleet. There were fears that they might make inroads into our quotas. We have been assured by Dr. Van Gelderen that this would not happen and this was a source of comfort and joy to us in Ireland. We also made progress with regard to agreements with third countries in the southern hemisphere. Other agreements were renegotiated or extended.
In relation to technical conservation measures, the secretary of my Department headed a top level group to make recommendations to the Council with regard to conservation measuresd in the North Sea. Pollution and overfishing have caused grave problems in this area and Ireland made a very significant contribution to the study of and recommendations to deal with this problem. Coming from the recent Council meeting we had increased total allowable catches for sole and other species in the Irish Sea. We also made an arrangement which freed our Irish fishermen timewise with regard to the very lucrative horse mackerel fishery which was developed recently, particularly since the Japanese began to purchase horse mackerel for human consumption.
It is our policy to maximise agriculture's contribution, in harmony with environmental excellence, to job creation, exports and consequently, to improved economic growth. In 1989 production from the industry was worth almost £30 million, with 850 full-time jobs and 1,300 part-time jobs in the aquaculture area. The ambition for 1991 is to have £71 million worth of production and about 3,500 jobs. I would emphasise that properly placed and controlled this industry is a clean industry despite the fact that some misinformed criticism seems to indicate that it is not. We have set in motion a systematic information programme to bring order and control into the industry and to make sure that there is no damage to our environment. The Department with BIM and Údarás na Gaeltachta are trying to maximise the contribution from the European Community. A sum of £1.8 million from the Exchequer in grants and loans is being made available and in the April tranche from the Community, £1.6 million was received for nine Irish aquaculture ventures.
Inland fisheries is one of our great resources, the only tourist resource in my region. Funding of the inland fisheries is very important for the development of this natural resource. I have reached a formula to transcend the antagonisms that developed over the last couple of years via development co-operatives. I have provided 31 per cent more money this year for inland fisheries than was provided in 1989. I want people to cooperate in fisheries to develop this great industry. I have the Bill practically ready for this House. I am glad to say the fishing is continuing very successfully during this summer.
I pay tribute to the officers of the South Western Board who lost their lives in pursuit of their duty, go ndéana Dia trócaire orthu. I express my appreciation to the House, particularly the spokespersons in this House for the tributes they paid to the people who lost their lives. I am glad they resisted the temptation to seek publicity on the deaths of four servants of the people, particularly in relation to an issue which was irrelevant to what happened over the week-end.
In relation to the marine environment the incidents involving the Kowloon Bridge and the Tribulus brought home to us how important it is to be in a position to preserve from danger the fishing, the aquaculture and the tourist value of our coastal regions. The protection of life on stricken vessels and the prevention of pollution, in that order are our priorities.