Jim O'Keeffe
Ceist:30 Mr. J. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources his views on whether the traditional herring industry has collapsed in view of the fact the return from the German market for herring fillets is only £400 per tonne with the cost to the producer of more than £500 per tonne which figure allows only minimum prices to the fishermen; and if he will seek an emergency package from the European Union in view of the fact that the situation may actually become worse from the new year when the Norwegians will have a herring quota of 1.5 million tonnes. [24654/99]