I fully share the concerns of Deputies about fishermen whose fishing activities have been seriously hampered in recent weeks. I heard at first hand the real hardship which some fishermen were enduring during a two day series of meetings with fishermen's representatives from around the country. I was particularly concerned about those fishermen who operate out of smaller inshore boats, dependent on catches of white fish for their regular income. These are the most vulnerable people in the fishing communities as they are most affected by weather conditions. My priority was to devise a structured response that will protect the livelihoods of fishermen during periods when they are unable to fish and have low incomes. The Deputy will be aware that EU state aid rules for the fishing industry rule out aid packages for income loss due to periods of bad weather.
Subsequent to meeting fishermen's organisations I met with my colleague, the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs, Deputy Dermot Ahern. Following detailed discussions with the Minister, the agreement of Government was secured to the introduction of a new scheme to be known as fishing assist which will benefit low income self-employed fishermen. The legislative basis for the scheme is provided in the Social Welfare Bill, which was published last week.
The new scheme includes changes to the income support arrangements for fishermen as follows: 80 per cent of all income from self-employment will be assessed, rather than 100 per cent as has been the case heretofore; child related income disregards of £100 per annum for the first two qualified children and £200 per annum for the third and subsequent children; and relaxation of signing on arrangements.
It is expected that over 500 low income self-employed fishermen will benefit from the fishing assist measure which will cost up to £1 million in a full year. This scheme provides a structured response to a long-term problem and tackles the situation of low income fishermen in the whitefish and inshore fleets who are particularly vulnerable to prolonged periods of bad weather which interfere with fishing activities.
Following a series of meetings with fishermen's representatives I have established a working group to assess the extent of serious short-term problems in the fishing industry. The group, comprising representatives of the fishermen, my Department and Bord Iascaigh Mhara will report back to me shortly. In the meantime fishermen affected by bad weather will now receive support under the new fishing assist scheme which the Government has approved.
