In August of this year I visited Brazil and was accompanied by the chairman of An Bord Iascaigh Mhara – BIM – and a fisherman from Galway. Four leading and prominent fishing industry representatives were invited to accompany me to look at the opportunities for the industry in general. However, owing to unscheduled business commitments, three people were subsequently unable to travel.
The purpose of the trip was to explore fishing opportunities in Brazil for Irish vessels, to investigate boat building options with Brazilian shipyards, to examine exporting opportunities to Europe, particularly within the whitefish sector, and to look at best practice in the Brazilian catching and processing sectors. The trip had been under consideration since July and was confirmed in August, with travel arrangements being finalised in the week preceding departure.
To date my Department has met my air travel costs amounting to £4,112.17. My accommodation expenses have not yet been paid by my Department but will be done so shortly. I will forward the details to the Deputy in due course. A further £1,591.56 was paid for translation and consultancy services in consultation with the Irish consular services in Brazil. BIM met the travel and accommodation costs of its chairman. In relation to the fisherman, I am informed by BIM that they met 40% of the travel costs incurred by him.
A copy of the itinerary of the visit is included for the Deputy's information and I will make arrangements to forward a copy of a report of the trip to the Deputy in due course.
Itinerary