ATTEMPTS by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue, to describe the decommissioning scheme for fishers as a ‘policy success’ are wide of the mark, says Independent TD for Cork South West, Michael Collins.
The scheme, which is due to close on November 18th, has received 24 applications that have been fully submitted, with 30 more in progress.
Deputy Collins was speaking after questioning the minister last week, at a joint committee on agriculture, food and the marine debate on the sustainability impact assessment for sea fisheries.
Deputy Collins has also raised concerns about the lack of supports in place for the energy costs being incurred by the fisheries sector, with recent hikes in the price of diesel making headlines.
‘I will never accept the minister’s attempts to characterise the decommissioning scheme as a great success or as a sign of positive engagement by fishers, when the very reason that such a scheme is necessary is down to years of national political neglect and international concessions to the EU,’ said Deputy Collins.
‘It should never have been necessary for our own boats to be tied up at the pier while foreign vessels are essentially given free reign.
‘I also find it astonishing that the minister can sit there, and in all seriousness speak to me about how the decommissioning scheme is being run concurrently with a series of schemes aimed at creating jobs in the seafood sector and in coastal communities,’ he added. Deputy Collins said Minister McConalogue appeared to be ‘blissfully unaware of how his own government and the previous government have eroded the very capacity of fishing communities to survive.’
And he strongly urged the minister to ensure that the European Commission’s proposal for the fixing of total allowable catches for the coming year includes blue fin tuna and a more equitable quota of mackerel for our own fishers.
‘Those are concrete measures, along with a credible system of fuel supports, that will go some way toward assisting a sector that is in critical need of meaningful interventions,’ concluded Deputy Collins.
