MINISTER FOR Agriculture and Fisheries Brendan Smith has said that EU fisheries commissioner Joe Borg is now "fully acquainted with the issues of concern to Irish fishermen".
But Mr Borg has indicated that temporary tie-up aid may not be an option during the current fuel price crisis, unless it is coupled to long-term decommissioning measures for European fleets.
Temporary tie-up aid is one of a series of demands made by protesting Irish fishermen, who have suspended a threatened blockade of Irish ports while discussions are taking place within the EU.
The Federation of Irish Fishermen, which is not endorsing such protest action, has warned of "deep frustration, anger and desperation" within the industry, due to a series of issues, including escalating fuel prices, the impact of non-EU imports, delays in announcing decommissioning grants and inequitable monitoring.
Mr Smith and his junior counterpart, Tony Killeen, who has specific responsibility for fisheries, held bilateral talks with Mr Borg in Strasbourg yesterday.
The talks aimed to prepare the ground for next Monday's EU fisheries council in Luxembourg.
Mr Smith and Mr Killeen said that they had "impressed upon the commissioner the serious difficulties and the depth of feeling of Irish fishermen, and also the urgent need to bring forward an EU-funded package of measures to alleviate the concerns of Irish fishermen".
Mr Killeen said that Mr Borg was working on a number of issues, which may have to be discussed at a following council on July 15th.
"Some issues may be finalised next week, including the problem of illegal imports, which he is very keen to get agreement on, and a €20 to €25 million marketing package for fish.
"Commissioner Borg was interested in the idea of a temporary tie-up, which we argued could be done as part of an integrated package." However, it was not clear how much EU funding there would be for this, "if any".
