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A CON JOB

ifsacormac


Following release of the Government Budget for 2025, which was accompanied with much fanfare and political spin as being the ‘great giveaway’ to the nation of the €22 billion surplus (not hard to guess there’s an election on the horizon…) - - but not once was the crisis of the Irish fishing industry even mentioned.


Editorial comment - Cormac Burke, IFSA


Amidst all the budget speeches this week and various ministers clapping themselves on the back with their apparent generosity to the Irish public, not one single reference was made to the Irish fishing industry, the thousands of people on the verge of losing their jobs, nor to the crisis the industry is in largely due to this Government’s mismanagement and lack of support in recent years particularly within the context of EU membership.


So Charlie McConalogue, never one to miss an opportunity to hog a bit of limelight, takes it upon himself once again (following along the lines of his recent deluded BIM press releases proclaiming how great things are in the industry at this time), issues a statement about what a wonderful job he’s doing, when the reality is that he will go down in history as the most inept and unsupportive marine minister the Irish fishing industry has ever had in the history of this State.


The headline is certainly attractive - - McConalogue secures €177 million to support the seafood sector - - until one reads further and discovers that any such ‘investment’ seems tied to a range of the same old schemes that were already activated over the past year (see list in attached link) and in fact there appears to be nothing new planned for 2025.


Indeed McConalogue’s statement that part of the ‘investment’ in the industry will “build on the supports provided to the sector over the course of 2022 and 2023 under the Brexit Processing Capital Support Scheme, funded under the Brexit Adjustment Reserve (BAR), where industry received over €30 million in funding for capital investment in this sector” has raised eyebrows in the processing sector with the IFPEA seeking clarity as why this reference to funding is apparently related to a program that has actually been closed since November 2023 and is no longer operational (and indeed he makes no reference to the fact that to receive that ‘€30 million funding’ the processing industry had to make private investment of more than double that amount).


As we sift through all the press releases that constantly manipulate the figures to present a more palatable vision for general public consumption when the facts actually show an industry on the verge of collapse, still the question goes unanswered as to Government ‘spending’ on the seafood sector that was certainly up in the past year but that this was due to having the bonus of the Brexit BAR fund at their disposal - - but how much genuine Irish Government investment was made in this sector and how did it compare to previous years?


But constantly portraying ‘investment in the sector’ in the guise of new piers or various schemes that have brought little or no positive value to the industry achieves nothing aside from a charm offensive on an uneducated public when the reality is that Ireland has zero representation at the EU table and such is the petty mindedness of our marine minister that he will barely speak to the industry representatives, never mind keep them abreast of events in Europe, all because he is irritated that they have dared to criticise him at times in the past - - to the point where some of these representatives have had to go to Brussels themselves on several occasions to find out what’s next on the EU agenda of taking even more fish out of Irish waters by non Irish and non EU fleets because their own minister won’t talk to them.


And then he has the gall to go on media interviews claiming that he keeps up ‘constant communication with the industry’.


For too long the people have accepted a situation where a minister, an elected politician who is in fact employed by this industry, continues to ignore the voices that scream for real support, shirks his responsibilities when it comes to Ireland taking a stance against the EU Commission, and who then takes a childish sulk and refuses to listen or take the advice from recognised industry organisation leaders because they have publically disagreed with his management of various issues.


Many of these industry representatives, who most previous marine ministers have treated with respect, come from coastal communities and have spent their entire lives involved in the fishing industry in one way or another but, as well as everyone else working in this industry, they have been treated with distain for the past four years by a minister with zero knowledge or experience in this industry but who arrogantly expects people to accept that actually its raining down their backs and its not the p*ss from above that they know it to be.


The people of this industry have had a bellyful of being told that we shouldn’t be so negative and we should be thankful for the new piers at a time when the Irish fleet is vastly reducing in size; be grateful for the investment in the processing sector when at the same time the minister is doing nothing to halt the huge decline of landing of raw material into Ireland that these businesses need to survive; and be happy about the fact that Irish quotas in all sectors has reduced by 30% in recent years whilst non Irish vessels see their quotas in Irish waters increasing year on year.


We can no longer listen to the twisted political scam of “fishing industry crisis, what crisis?” that is repeatedly being churned out to the public when we can see with our own eyes what is happening to a sector that was once the envy of all of Europe.


The next minister that this industry is given, and God knows that can’t come soon enough, must immediately realise that his appointment is not about his or her ego, nor about trying to use this industry to further their political career, but about genuine care and support for real people - - honest, hardworking people who are fighting to save their careers, their businesses and the traditional way of life of their coastal communities.


A minister with some humility instead of arrogance would be a breath of fresh air right now.




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