Fine Gael will table a private member’s motion in the Dail next week urging the Government to negotiate a financial package for the fishing industry and to bring in a ban on unregulated fish imports.
Members of the fishing community throughout Ireland have taken part in protests in recent weeks over threats to their livelihood, including rising fuel costs and what they believe is an unfair quota system.
The motion will ask the Government to insist that the Irish fishing industry is not disadvantaged relative to its competitors within the EU as a result of the Commission decision to permit State aid in certain circumstances.
It also calls on the Government to pursue a “uniform and balanced approach to enforcement of fisheries regulation throughout the EU”.
Fine Gael also wants the Government to pursue the possibility of increasing cod quotas.
The party’s agriculture, fisheries and food spokesman Michael Creed said that the Government is “engaged in delaying tactics on key issues facing the industry when firm commitments and urgent actions are required”.
"The Government was extremely slow to react to the crisis facing the fishing industry until a protest by the fishermen forced them into the open.
“Since then we've had plenty of talk but no action. An immediate cash injection is essential and the Government must negotiate a package as a matter of urgency to ensure the survival of the industry. The Government must also ensure that any financial package involving State funding is applied equitably so that Ireland is not placed at a competitive disadvantage,” he said.
Mr Creed said key issues affecting the sector must also be addressed, including country-of-origin labelling for fish products together with regulation of imports.