The Fishing Industry

Speech by David Ford delivered to Assembly, 22 May 2007 on Wed 23rd May 2007

As a former member of the Committee for Agriculture and Rural Development, I confess to a distinct sense of déjà vu. Some issues that apply to the fishing industry are not well known across the community. Although those relating to agriculture and rural development may well be encompassed by Members who do not represent purely urban constituencies, some issues concerning the fishing industry and fishing communities are noticed all too often only in the two constituencies that depend most on fishing. It is important that we do not wait for the usual December crisis time: we should seriously consider an issue as important as fishing now.

As a former member of that Committee, I recall the frequency with which the former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Ms Bríd Rodgers, would attend to talk about her ambitions, yet we knew that she would end up in the back row of the UK delegation - with a relatively limited role within that delegation. She would return to the Committee a week or two later and effectively apologise that nothing better could be done.

There must be long-term engagement, seeking not simply to crisis manage, but to take fully on board the issues. Mr P J Bradley mentioned the effective lobbying at times by the two fishing organisations led by Mr McCulla and Mr James. However, there is no point in their lobbying if they speak only to a small group of MLAs once or twice a year whenever a crisis arises.

That is why it is valuable that Mr Shannon has tabled the motion. Although we are talking about a small number of communities, there is a significant employment issue, both with respect to fishing and to fish processing. Members are aware that fish processing had been declining in those communities. Were I not sitting beside Naomi Long, I might mention that fishing is now more significant to the Northern Ireland economy than Harland and Wolff. However, Belfast-centric journalists do not seem to notice that there are issues of real concern to small-scale industries elsewhere.

I welcome the motion and appreciate the concerns that it expresses, but the tone of Europhobia that accompanied Mr Shannon's remarks do not help when we seek to engage in issues of conservation and employment. We must ensure that engagement from this region and from the Assembly is based on best, sound scientific advice. If that means that we need different scientific advisers to ensure that such evidence gets across in Brussels, so be it. However, it is not helpful to express difficulties solely in terms of faceless bureaucrats in Brussels who do not know what is going on.

I am concerned at the way the original motion is phrased. I am unsure what is meant by "a committee to oversee the fishing industry". Therefore Mr Shannon's acceptance of the amendment brings considerable advantages. Let us be clear: responsibility for supporting the fishing industry lies with the Minister - or, this afternoon, with another Minister who happens to be here - and the Department, supported by the Assembly, and in particular, by the Committee for Agriculture and Rural Development. That is where the responsibility should lie. I am not sure what a wider committee could do. There is a danger in suggesting that we should set up another Committee to take away from the statutory functions of DARD. However, the proposal to establish an all-party working group ensures that there is forward movement in the Assembly and that Members are acting together. The amendment improves the motion in that respect.

Unfortunately the amendment does not call for the Minister to take action as the original motion did; it might have been better to phrase it differently. However, we have highlighted that there are issues that need to be addressed and that are of concern to the Assembly as a whole. It is important that pressure on the Minister is maintained, regardless of how the motion is phrased.

It will be interesting to hear from the substitute Minister. I trust that his presence is an indication of a specific DRD responsibility that impinges on DARD in this respect, although I am aware of no such responsibility. It is important for the Assembly to send out a message of support to the fishing industry. While we must consider the overall economic needs of Northern Ireland, we should not get sucked into ignoring the needs of smaller communities that are suffering at present.