A THREATENED walk out from the Government's new review group on fishing vessel safety has been averted, following what industry representatives described as a "positive" meeting in Dublin yesterday.
"We're staying in, for now," the Irish Fishermen's Federation (IFF) said. But the Minister for Defence and the Marine has been warned that he must not use the safety issue to implement cuts in the size of the Irish whitefish fleet.
Ireland has already been asked to cut its whitefish fleet by 4,000 tonnes to suit EU conservation demands, while 40 Spanish vessels at an estimated 5,000 to 8,000 tonnes in total have been admitted to the Irish Box.
The fishing vessel safety review group was established by Mr Barrett as a result of the Carrickatine incident off Donegal last November, when six fishermen died. The recent accident involving the Jenalisa off Dunmore East brings to 25 the number of lives lost in fishing related accidents in the last 14 months.
While the Jenalisa was a new vessel, the Carrickatine was one of many aging vessels in a whitefish fleet which has been precluded from renewal under EU restrictions.
The row over the safety review group arose following an appearance by the Minister on RTE's Prime Time last week. He had refused to discuss the issue directly with industry representatives, and was accused by the Foyle Fishermen's Co op in Co Donegal of using RTE as "his own vehicle". The co op, to which the Carrickatine crew members had belonged, challenged the Minister to an "open, televised debate".
The review group is chaired by Mr Donal O'Mahony, former secretary of the Department of Tourism, Transport and Communications, and includes six representatives of the Department of the Marine one representative each from Bord Iascaigh Mhara, the Naval Service, the Department of Finance and the Commissioners of Irish Lights and one representative each from five industry organisations, four of which are affiliated to the national federation, the IFF.
. The search for two fishermen still missing off Dunmore East C Waterford, from the Jenalisa is set to continue today, weather permitting.
