Vol. 412 No. 2
10 Mrs. Taylor-Quinn asked the Minister for the Marine if he will outline his immediate investment plans for research and development into fish/fish farming in Ireland in view of the STRIDE report's findings that no major capital investment has been made to date and that Ireland's fish/fish farming research is amongst the lowest in the EC.
The Deputy is doubtless referring to Ireland's Operational Programme 1991-1993 under STRIDE (Science and Technology for Regional Innovation and Development in Europe) which I launched on 15 October last. The Operational Programme totalling IR£13.5 million has been approved by the EC Commission, and comprises four subprogrammes of which the Marine subprogramme is the largest (the remaining three being Environment, Forestry and Food). The investment under the programme will take the form of a contribution from the ERDF of IR£10 million over the period, with the remaining 25 per cent of the cost to be met from national resources.
The programme is in essence a funding package for the development of natural resources in Ireland. The money will be spent on a large-scale upgrading programme for a wide range of scientific and technological facilities in the four natural resources sectors identified. These four sectors were chosen because of their development potential and the acknowledged need to apply resources to secure and develop that potential. The agreement of the EC to co-finance the investment in science and technology in these areas is a recognition of their development potential and endorses the approach adopted in putting together the STRIDE Programme for Ireland.
I am particularly pleased by the recognition given under STRIDE to the marine area. The marine sub-pro-gramme, with a planned total investment of £8 million, addresses the need to build up national capability and expertise in marine science and technology which will underpin further sustained development in the sector including the key areas of seafishing and aquaculture.
The measures in the marine sub-pro-gramme fall under five main headings: (1) investment in the Fisheries Research Centre at the Department of the Marine to provide essential equipment to support the fishing and aquaculture industries; (2) investment in the Martin Ryan Marine Science Institute at UCG to fit out laboratories and facilities in the new institute with a full range of oceanographic equipment; (3) investment in the Coastal Engineering and Resource Management Centre at UCC to equip the hydraulics laboratory and coastal management unit to European standards; (4) the establishment and equipping of a marine data centre under the aegis of the Department of the Marine as a national centre for marine data management and (5) investment in the marine research vessel, Lough Beltra, to provide specialised equipment for the national marine research vessel.
I am certain that this structural investment in key centres and facets of marine expertise will strongly support research and development in fish and fish farming, and contribute to the development of this important sector. I would stress that the funding now being made available through the STRIDE Programme will complement existing expenditure which my Department already commit to fish stock assessment and research, fish pathology, aquaculture research and development and water chemistry. Under my Departmental Vote for 1991 the Fisheries Research Centre has an allocation of £1 million from which a wide range of activities under these headings are funded. While available resources, both staff and facilities have been deployed to maximum benefit up to now the infusion of additional funding through STRIDE will greatly contribute to the objective of enhancing and underpinning activities in the marine sector through the provision of even better research facilities and more comprehensive R & D.
I thank the Minister for his reply. Would he not agree that this new funding is coming on-stream a little late, given that the Common Fisheries Policy is now being renegotiated and that much of the scientific information required is being supplied to us by member states who are competitors in relation to the allocation of quotas? Does the Minister not think that the allocation is minimal, given the depleted condition of our marine science, particularly with regard to the Lough Beltra? The STRIDE programme clearly states that Ireland has only one research vessel, which is the smallest in the European fleet, and we are placed by STRIDE at the bottom of the European league. In view of the castigating statement in the STRIDE programme, would the Minister not agree that there is need for major investment over and above the £8 million proposed by STRIDE?
If we are to dispose of the questions before us we must have briefer supplementaries.
I would not accept that we are depending on our competitors for scientific information with regard to marine matters. We are members of ISIS, the international scientific organisation, and we have played a very important role there for 40 or 50 years. An Irishman is the deputy president of that organisation. To give the House an idea of how important our own research has been, I would point out that I was able to get 6,000 extra tonnes of herring in the Celtic Sea this year because of the research done by my Department. I was very pleased about that. Over 90 per cent of the Celtic Sea is our fishery anyway. Most scientists are not biased in the way suggested and no other country would have a vested interest in giving us false information about the Celtic Sea. We did the work ourselves and it means between £900,000 and £1 million worth of fish for our fishermen.
