Fishing industry representatives have given a warm welcome to the £40 million whitefish fleet renewal package announced by the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources, Dr Woods, yesterday in Castletownbere, Co Cork.
"We are absolutely delighted. This represents a new dawn for the whitefish fleet," said Mr Joey Murrin, chief executive of the Killybegs Fishermen's Organisation (KFO) and board member of the Marine Institute. "It will be important now to see that the right people get the right boats," he added.
Mr Donal O'Driscoll, chairman of the Irish South and West Fishermen's Organisation (IS&WFO), said the scheme of direct grant aid and tax reliefs appeared to be "very good on first impressions". The IS&WFO would be studying the small print over the next few days, he added. "But coming from a position of total stagnation, this has to represent a significant step forward," Mr O'Driscoll said.
As reported in yesterday's Irish Times, the three-year package comprises about £9 million in EU and State grants, while over £30 million will be generated in a taxrelief scheme designed to revitalise an ageing fleet. It will allow Irish skippers to take on major EU competitors, including Spain, for the first time since the Common Fisheries Policy was agreed 15 years ago. Some 45 per cent of the cost of about 27 new vessels will be financed under the scheme, while up to 15 per cent of the cost of modern second-hand vessels will be met. There will be 25 per cent aid for refurbishing existing vessels, and 50 per cent assistance for purchase of safety equipment. The tax relief scheme, which has the support of the major financial institutions, has already been incorporated in the Finance Act.
The scheme breaks the deadlock on fleet size imposed by EU membership, and will be administered by Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM). A series of briefing meetings are to be held by the board in Castletownbere and Baltimore, Co Cork; Dingle, Co Kerry; Howth, Co Dublin; Furbo in Connemara; Donegal town, Letterkenny; Kilmore Quay, Co Wexford; and Dunmore East, Co Waterford, from next Friday.
The Minister said the scheme would safeguard jobs in coastal regions, enhance safety at sea, improve quality and competitiveness in the whitefish fleet and "create a level playing field with the fleets of other member-states". Dr Woods said the package would include a service guarantee to ensure transparency and efficiency, and applications would be processed "speedily and fairly" by BIM on his instruction.
"It is unprecedented," Mr Pat Keogh, chief executive of BIM, said. "It offers great opportunities, and improved safety, for skipper-owners and crew. In economic terms, a more modern fleet will land better-quality fish, improve continuity of supply, and add value overall."
A stipulation that 30 per cent of the annual catch of new vessels should comprise non-quota species did not necessarily mean the new buildings had to have deep-water capability, Mr Keogh added. "Many inshore species, apart from prawns, are non-quota," he said.
