South Donegal is facing up to 1,000 job losses and the collapse of a skills base due to the Government's apparent "death wish" in relation to Killybegs, according to business interests in the region.
The Fine Gael marine spokesman, Mr John Perry, has tabled a priority Dáil question for tomorrow in which he asks if it is now Government policy to close down the fishing industry on the west coast.
A combination of over-regulation, a ban on night-time landings and increased charges in the State's new €55 million harbour are forcing Irish supertrawlers to land mackerel catches in Norway and Scotland.
Mr Perry said EU regulations have driven whitefish vessels out of business, new safety measures are squeezing smaller operators, and a deepwater fishery specifically nurtured by the EU and State through vessel grants has also been closed down.
The current Garda investigation into irregularities in landings at various west coast ports is almost a side-issue, at a time when the number of seasonal jobs in fish processing in Killybegs has dropped from 1,500 two years ago at the height of the mackerel fishery to 150, Mr Perry says.
The Scottish port of Peterhead has undertaken significant expansion to accommodate Irish vessels that can no longer afford to land into Irish factories, he says.
Even operators of Donegal vessels, who made a conscious decision to try and keep local fish plants going, are being faced with no option but to land elsewhere, according to Mr Martin Howley, chairman of the Killybegs Fishermen's Organisation (KFO). "It's as if the Department has a death wish for the industry," he said.
The impact on up to 1,000 people who normally combine small farming with fish factory employment could cost the State almost €9.5 million annually, a new business group for the region has forecast.
The recently formed South Donegal Chamber of Commerce led by Mr Art Kavanagh, manager of Allied Irish Banks in Killybegs, hopes to meet the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Mr Martin, on the issue.
It has calculated that the income tax lost from 1,000 pay packets amounts to €1.6 million over a year, and unemployment benefit paid to the same group would cost €7,737,600 - costing the State almost €9.5 million annually. The area cannot sustain the enormous socio-economic impact of such job losses, and the stripping of an invaluable skills base from the marine industry, according to Mr Kavanagh.
The financier maintains that no other region on this island has invested so much private capital in its own future. It is not just Killybegs, but the hinterland comprising Kilcar, Carrick, Ardara, Dungloe and towns stretching from Sligo in the south to Letterkenny in the north that have been affected by the downturn.
The whitefish fleet has been in trouble for several years, but the first problems arose last year for the pelagic (mackerel/herring) fleet when the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources introduced a ban on night-time landings, due to a cut in overtime pay among inspectors. An EU directive on weighing fish has resulted in water being weighed as part of the catch - a situation that occurs only in Ireland and no other EU member-state, according to Mr Howley.
Harbour dues also increased last year, shortly before the State's new €55 million deepwater berth was opened.
The Fine Gael senator, Mr Paul Coghlan, has queried the Government's handling of the Garda investigation into alleged irregularities and collusion with departmental staff. He challenged the decision to mount what he described as "Hawaii-Five-O style" raids on fishermen's homes, when most of the information was available in factories and in the Department's own files.
The South Donegal Chamber of Commerce says the Garda inquiry is not within its remit. However, business leaders point out Spain was recently found by the European Court of Justice to have broken Common Fisheries Policy rules for seven years.
A Department spokesman said a compromise between processors and vessels on weighing fish intended to deal with the "water as fish" issue, and the EU was also examining the directive.
Irish pelagic vessels had traditionally landed in Norway and Scotland when the fish stocks were in those areas, he said, and it was ultimately a choice made by Irish skippers. The night-time landings ban had not been resolved, he confirmed.
