Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 8 Mar 2000

Vol. 516 No. 1

Adjournment Debate. - Compensation for Fishermen.

Mr. Broughan:

The Minister will know that for the past three or four weeks the fishing community in Howth in my constituency, the premier east coast fishing port, has been in total disarray. The livelihood of the skippers and crews of between 15 to 20 boats, perhaps up to 500 to 800 people in total, has been diminished by the events of the past number of weeks. Howth is famous for its prawn fishery but this area is now impossible to fish. During another debate I asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs to consider coming up with an urgent rescue plan for the fishermen and families of Howth in conjunction with the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources.

Sadly, the events of the past number of weeks have displayed the gross incompetence of my constituency colleague, the Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Woods, who held the marine and natural resources portfolio at that time. If we compare his performance with that of the Northern Ireland Minister, Ms Bríd Rodgers, and the deal she got for Portavogie and the Northern ports, we realise that the Minister, Deputy Woods, got a disastrous result for the fishermen of Howth.

The Howth fishermen have long understood the need for conservation. I have the lengthy report they submitted a number of years ago demanding conservation of the Irish Sea cod fishery and which became a basis for the Irish Sea cod recovery plan. There were discussions in Brussels at DG XIV at which a number of our fishermen were represented. Unfortunately, they came home to find that a large box in the Irish Sea, with which the Minister is familiar, encompassing the whole north Dublin coast and three hours sailing off the Howth peninsula was closed to them even though it was the main source for their livelihood. It is a disastrous situation. The key problem is the overlapping of the prawn and cod fisheries but whatever way one looks at it, the livelihood of dozens of families in an important part of my constituency has been removed.

As Deputy Seán Ryan said when he raised this issue in respect of north county Dublin fishermen a few weeks ago, there is also a key safety issue. The Minister is effectively asking the fishermen of Howth, in their small 50 to 70 foot open decked boats, to sail for at least three hours to the open prawn grounds. This is extremely dangerous because if bad weather blows up, they are three hours sailing time from safety. Fishing has always been a dangerous job and one of the monuments in Howth, on Harbour Road, is dedicated to the many fishermen who died trying to earn a living over the past number of decades.

The situation is now impossible. The Minister and his predecessor are asking these men to risk their lives. We urgently need a major compensation package at least based on the average industrial wage and on incomes for comparable periods last year. I ask the Minister to get together with the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs to bring forward a compensation package as soon as possible for my constituents who have no livelihood until early May. It is a disastrous result for the people of Howth and the fishing industry there. It is the number one port on the east coast and the number one shell fish port in Ireland. I ask the Minister of State, Deputy Byrne, to convey to the Minister, Deputy Fahey, the urgent need to bring in a compensation package and not to leave these men and women and their families without a livelihood over the next three months.

Minister of State at the Department of the Marine and Natural Resources (Mr. Byrne):

The European Council and Commission decided in December, with the support of the member states, that an Irish Sea cod recovery plan had to be put in place this year to ensure a future for the Irish Sea cod stock. I am little surprised that Deputy Broughan took the opportunity to criticise the Minister, Deputy Woods. I had the pleasure of working with him for the past two and a half years. I can say categorically that he worked extremely hard and probably got a better deal than most others would have. It is a little disingenuous to speak of him in his absence.

In early January my Department circulated a discussion paper and discussed this with fishermen at a meeting in the Department. A delegation incorporating six east coast fishermen met the Commission and other member states on 21 January to discuss proposals for the protection of adult spawning cod. There was broad agreement on the areas that had to be closed but the Commission expressed strong concern about high by-catches of spawning cod in prawn fisheries. The Commission proposed a ten week closure of a large area of the western Irish Sea for prawn fishing. Due to the dependence of east coast Irish fishermen on prawn fishing, the Irish delegation sought to keep as much as possible of the prawn fishery open. The Commission eventually conceded to keep the bulk of the prawn grounds open. A small area of prawn ground overlaps with the biggest concentration of spawning cod in the Irish Sea and the Commission insisted on closing this for the ten week period.

In mid-February my Department circulated a second discussion paper to the east coast fishermen on possible measures to ensure that small cod, of little commercial value, were not killed in Irish Sea fisheries before they had a chance to spawn. This paper was discussed with fishermen and a delegation, incorporating six east coast fishermen, met the Commission and the other member states in Brussels on 24 and 25 February to discuss the proposals. The Commission is now preparing a draft Council regulation to achieve this objective.

The member states involved in beam trawl fisheries in the north eastern Irish Sea have also agreed that beam trawling will not be permitted in the cod protection boxes from 13 March to the end of April. Given that most of the beam trawlers target sole, which is also spawning at this time of year, it is expected that there will be a biological benefit for the sole stock from this initiative. The Irish beam trawl fishery for sole is always limited to a number of weeks in the spring and autumn by virtue of the quota restrictions on these species. Hence this measure, which has been discussed with Irish beam trawl fishermen, will not impact on the volume of sole caught by the Irish fleet this year.

The overall position is that a comprehensive package of measures is being put place in consultation with fishermen, which in combination offer the best chance yet to turn around the terminal decline of the east coast fishing industry. That is something which they understand. Since the 1980s the Irish Sea stocks have been progressively declining and this has resulted in the demise of east coast fishing communities. This nettle is now being grasped and there has been significant support from the fishermen, who have been deeply involved in the process, for the actions which are being taken. The fishermen and their representatives recognise that the situation has to be turned around.

I recognise that some prawn fishermen will have longer steaming times to get to the prawn grounds, but the important point is that the bulk of the ground is still open for prawn fishing. From the end of April onwards all prawn grounds will be fully open for the remainder of the year. Fishermen have indicated that the prawn grounds overall are very heavily fished and that the prawn catches will probably be improved in the area which is currently closed when the fishery recommences there at the beginning of May.

The package of measures which has been put in place in the Irish Sea will primarily benefit the vessels targeting the mixed whitefish fisheries. It is those vessels that have suffered most from the decline of the cod and whiting stocks over the past decade and whose future would be secured by a recovery of these stocks. While I accept there is some short-term displacement of fishing activity this spring, this should lead to better returns in the coming years.

The measures that are in place have been structured to give rise to the minimum disruption to fishing activity and to retain the maximum range of fishing opportunities possible for east coast vessels. The measures are necessary to ensure a viable future for east coast fishermen. They are of short duration and limited impact and in these circumstances the payment of compensation requested by the Deputy would not be appropriate.