Barret accused of trying to "bury" report

THE Minister for the Marine has been accused of trying to "bury" a consultancy study on the Irish whitefish fleet, which proposes building up to four new vessels at a cost of £1.8 million each.

The report, which was published by Mr Barrett on Friday night, has taken a "completely minimalist" approach, Mr Andrew Ward, secretary of the Foyle Fishermen's Co operative in Donegal, said yesterday.

"After so much agitation and lobbying and pressure to renew an ageing whitefish fleet, it is astonishing that the Minister should have chosen a Friday evening to release this document," Mr Tom Hassett, of the Irish South and West Fishermen's Organisation, said.

The recommendation of up to four new vessels by consultants KPMG and McIver was insufficient, he said. However, he could not comment in detail as the IS&WFO had not received its copy of the publication.

Mr Andrew Ward of the Foyle Fishermen's Co op said thee recommendation of 40 per cent EU and State support towards the cost of the new vessels, at some 24 metres in length, was misleading. In fact, such support worked out at 20 per cent. Under EU regulations, grant aid is available for only about £1 million of the cost.

Other EU member states were not being bound by EU fleet size restrictions when it came to development, Mr Ward said. "The Spanish province of Galicia aims to build 3,000 new vessels over the next 20 years. The Scots are involved in a £130 million investment programme. We should be looking for the same age structure in our fleet, particularly as we missed the big boat building programme of the 1980s.

The study has been published at time of looming crisis within the Irish fishing industry. Last year, a report commissioned by the Minister said that over 60 per cent of the fleet was "decrepit", poorly maintained and had "serious deficiencies".

Already concerned by safety factors, the industry has been hit by a recent fall in the price of fish and a 10 per cent increase in labour costs due to changes in the social welfare structure. A £28 million EU backed renewal and modernisation programme has been suspended by the Government pending EU agreement on Community fleet size, which is to be discussed in Luxembourg today.

The Irish Fish Producers Organisation (IFPO) said it welcomed the report's publication, and the proposal to introduce a grant scheme, though this was only bringing the fishing sector into line with supports for other Irish food sections. But to suggest that four new ships would contribute to a "critical mass" was "something of an overstatement".