EU Fisheries Ministers has agreed on a comprehensive package of measures including the key immediate component of temporary tie-up aid. To implement this, the Federation of Irish Fishermen has consistently advanced a package of emergency aid for the fishing sector to enable the sector to survive the current crisis it is suffering. FIF urged the Irish government to secure additional funding from the EU to finance these measures, which reportedly was the subject of major difficulty at today’s Council of EU Fisheries Ministers.
But the application of this additional EU funding will not happen until 2009, particularly in light of the fact that some EU countries with large domestic allocations under the EU Fisheries Fund will be in a position to provide their own funding to their own fleets this Autumn. According to FIF the present situation of Irish fishing industry is extremely grave. The fleet also facing critical situation which means that the package of measures must proceed at the earliest.
FIF said that the implementation with exchequer funding if necessary to cover the programme the remainder of 2008, despite the acknowledged deterioration in the public finances. The organization expects the Irish government to move to implement temporary tie-up aid in coming weeks as the only way to ensure the short-term survival of a large portion of the sector.
