Conor D McGuinness: Government Neglect Threatens Inshore Sector
Conor D McGuinness addressed the committee to thank NIFA and to highlight urgent needs in the inshore sector, warning that government neglect has driven decline to an alarming level. He called for support for a scheme to keep the industry alive, raised problems with the existing fuel scheme, and urged the Taoiseach to engage with the committee on a cabinet-ranked marine minister.
Acknowledgement of NIFA work
Conor D McGuinness opens by thanking NIFA for its initial and follow-up proposals and stresses the clear level of need in the inshore sector. He emphasises the sector's contribution to coastal communities, the maritime economy and employment in marginal and peripheral areas around the coastline.
Warning on government neglect
McGuinness condemns the scale of decline the sector has suffered and states that, for government to have allowed it, "borders on the criminal." He describes the present pressure on what remains of the industry as unconscionable and says a scheme to keep the industry alive is urgently required.
Fuel scheme accessibility concerns
He reiterates previous criticism of the existing fuel scheme, arguing it is not fit for purpose and raises access issues. The committee, with the agreement of members, will write to BIM and to the Minister to flag the concerns outlined during the session.
Challenge to the Taoiseach on ministerial responsibility
McGuinness welcomes the Taoiseach's recent public suggestion for a senior, cabinet-ranked minister for the marine and sea fisheries but calls the remark deeply disingenuous given prior choices. He invites the Taoiseach to appear before the committee to clarify whether the proposal is serious and why earlier opportunities to appoint such a minister were not taken.
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But just for my own part, I want to thank NIFA for the work that you've put into your initial proposal and this second proposal. I think it's clear the level of need that exists in the insure sector for assistance. I think it should be clear to anybody observing the proceedings of this committee, the store that we put on the insure sector. I don't think there's anybody in this room that doesn't recognize the huge contribution that the insure sector makes to our coastal communities, to our maritime economy, to our economy overall, to keeping employment in marginal and peripheral communities around our coastline. And for government to have allowed the decline that has already occurred, borders on the criminal, I would say it's certainly a very extreme form of neglect that has taken place. And to allow what remains of our insure sector to come under such pressure at this point is frankly unconscionable. I think that needs to be said and I think that needs to be heard. I fully support the concept of a scheme that would keep the industry alive in these really difficult times that you're experiencing at the moment. I note the comments that you've made with regards to the existing fuel scheme and this was criticism that I and others had made at a time that that was being broached here and indeed enacted in these houses, that there would be issues with accessibility, that it wasn't fit for purpose and I think that urgently needs to be looked for. So this committee with the the agreement of the members here will write to both BIM and to the Minister to flag those concerns that have been outlined here today. And finally I just want to make a comment more broadly with regards to the maritime and sea fishery space. And I think this warrants being raised at this forum. The Taoiseach in the last number of days made a comment at a conference in Cork saying that there ought to be a full senior minister, cabinet-ranked minister for the marine and sea fisheries and I utterly agree. It's not often that I agree with the Taoiseach but I have to say I felt it to be deeply, deeply disingenuous for the head of government to effectively flail his arms about and say well somebody somewhere should do something. And I just think that needs to be put on the record and I think it would be welcome if the Taoiseach were minded to engage with this committee at some point in the future to discuss both his proposal, whether it was made flippantly and in the heat of the moment or whether it is something that he is actually genuinely considering. But it would be worthwhile for him to come before this committee to engage with us on that proposal and to outline perhaps the reasons why in his last number of occasions where he could have appointed a senior minister in that role he didn't do it, he chose not to. But I just think that needs to be said and I'll leave it at that.
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