This article is from page 38 of the 2008-06-24 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 38 JPG
CLARE TD and Minister of State with Special Responsibilities for Fisheries, Tony Killeen, last week joined Agriculture Minister, Brendan Smith, in a meeting with EU Fisher- ies Commissioner, Joe Borg, where the difficulties being experienced by fishermen across Europe was the main topic for discussion.
While the meeting was the first face-to-face meeting between the ministers and the commissioner, it followed a lengthy telephone con- versation recently between Minister Smith and the commissioner.
In the course of the meeting, the ministers, as they had undertaken to do during a meeting with the Fed-
eration of Irish Fishermen on Friday last, impressed upon the commis- sioner 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 TeKemensaouensee
Minister Smith also indicated to the commissioner his intention to press, at next week’s Fisheries Council, for the adoption of new EU regulations to prevent the import of illegal, un- regulated and unreported fish into the EU market which are undermin- ing the markets for legally caught ne
He is also seeking the early adop- tion of new conservation measures to reduce discards and juvenile fish
protection measures in the waters around Ireland.
Minister Killeen emphasised to Commissioner Borg the priority that would have to be attached to the Irish fishing fleet in any EU package and also raised the issue of the re- quested adjustment of the Celtic Sea Cod TAC.
The ministers welcomed the pro- posals outlined by the commissioner, which were published last week, but highlighted the absence of a provi- sion for additional EU funding to underwrite the proposals.
Commissioner Borg indicated that he was still undertaking an exercise within the DG Mare to explore all possibilities for the identification of some additional funding for the
package.
Minister of State Killeen said that as many of the issues were also of concern to fishermen in other mem- ber states, he and Minister Smith would continue to press, with their colleagues at next week’s Council of Fisheries in Luxembourg, for a pack- age of measures and additional EU- funding which would be required to address the difficulties being expe- rienced by fishermen across the EU and particularly in Ireland.
Following a full discussion on the range of issues affecting the indus- try at next week’s council, Commis- sioner Borg will propose a definitive set of proposals for presentation to the Fisheries Council of Europe on ith ey