P. J. Sheehan
Ceist:55 Mr. Sheehan asked the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources the progress he has made to have the recommendations of the national strategy review group on the common fisheries policy adopted by the EU. [12991/01]
Priority Questions. - Common Fisheries Policy.
Ireland has been to the forefront in pressing for a comprehensive and open debate on the future of the Common Fisheries Policy. Almost 20 years from its inception the CFP is faced with major challenges in conservation, economic and political terms. The serious state of fish stocks and over capacity in the EU fleet are the key conservation challenges. The economics of the EU fishing sector are increasingly worrying in a scenario of high costs, labour market difficulties and a shrinking resource base. Politically the challenges are to secure the involvement of the stakeholders in the decision making process and to create a level playing field in compliance and enforcement. To prepare the Irish position, the national strategy review group of the CFP was set up in December 1998 under the chairmanship of Pádraic White. The group has presented me with a series of reports culminating in the comprehensive proposals and recommendations published last November in advance of the Commission's Green Paper in order to influence and input into the Commission's thinking. The group's report has been widely circulated throughout the EU and I have discussed the report with EU ministerial colleagues and Commissioner Fischler.
The Commission's Green Paper on the CFP was published last March. This discussion document will now be the subject of debate at EU level in the coming months. I welcome the Commission's intention to conduct consultation with all the players over the coming months. The strategy group intends to play a high profile role in this process, with my support. There will also be a major policy debate on the Green Paper at the Fisheries Council in June and I will work closely with the industry and the national strategy review group in developing our position on all the key challenges and options.
We are now proceeding with a rigorous analysis of the Green Paper. My initial reaction is to welcome the fact that a number of Ireland's priority themes are reflected in the Commission thinking. These include the need for enhanced technical conservation strategies, a structural policy which delivers balance between fishery effort and available resources, increased involvement of stakeholders in decision making and a level playing field in fisheries control.
The Commission accepts that fishermen and their organisations and scientists must be more involved in decision making and that we need more decentralisation through regional advisory mechanisms. I am pleased the work of the strategy group has contributed to the thinking in the Green Paper and we will continue to work to influence and shape the overall direction with the input and support of the group. Under the chairmanship of Pádraic White the group met Commissioner Fischler and EU officials last week and held more than one hour of discussions which I understand proved to be very fruitful.