Paul Bradford
Ceist:120 Mr. Bradford asked the Minister for the Marine when details of the new EU PESCA programme will be available; and the aims of this programme.
Written Answers. - PESCA Programme.
The PESCA programme is a Community funding initiative aimed specifically at the fisheries sector. The programme was launched last week as part of the Community's response to the structural changes in the fishing industry brought about as a consequence of a number of factors, including global fleet reductions, the ongoing instability on the markets and the possible enlargement of the union. These factors have serious implicatons for regions which are predominantly or entirely dependent on fisheries to support their local economy.
The aims of PESCA are to help the fishing industry overcome these difficulties and so to contribute to the socioeconomic survival of regions dependent on fisheries through the development of job-creating measures. Some ECU 250 million has been set aside for PESCA over the period 1994-99.
The specific elements of the programme have not yet been ironed out but I understand that aid will be available for,inter alia, diversification into other activities such as tourism and measures which help create or maintain employment in such regions.
It is hoped that the programme will be finalised, after consultation with member states and the European Parliament, sometime in May this year. Meanwhile the Department is analysing the programme and its implications for the fishing industry.