The Minister for the Marine, Mr Fahey, is due to announce a €50 million scheme for new fishing vessels today - the last such programme involving EU and State aid on this coastline if the European Commission has its way.
Proposals due to be published by the Commission in Brussels this morning seek to ban the use of EU structural funds and State aid for new vessels. The Commission wants to divert such funding into scrapping vessels and it believes that member-states should formally adopt a policy to reduce fleet size.
Publication of the EU proposals, prepared as part of this year's reform of the Common Fisheries Policy, has already been postponed twice. Last month a senior Commission official was sacked following intervention by Spain.
Spain is one of a group of member-states, including Ireland, which is vehemently opposed to the Commission's view. Its Commissioner, Ms Loyola de Palacio, personally intervened by writing to the Agriculture and Fisheries Commissioner, Mr Franz Fischler, to express her concern on possible restrictions.
Against this backdrop, the scheme being announced by Mr Fahey in Galway this morning takes on added significance. The scheme was outlined almost a year ago by him in Waterford, but has also been subject to delays.
The list of successful applicants was due to have been published last October.
The Department of the Marine and Natural Resources denied that the delay was tied to negotiations with the European Commission on the 144-metre Irish supertrawler, Atlantic Dawn.
The Commission has dropped its threat of legal action over the Dawn and has agreed to it being added to the fishing vessel register, with entitlement to fish in EU waters.
Currently, the supertrawler is fishing under an international segment off west Africa.
The domestic fleet renewal scheme being announced today involves some €25 million in EU funding and just under €2 million in State funding, with the bulk being made up of private investment.
It is the second such fleet renewal programme undertaken by this outgoing Government, and was designed to improve safety and allow for a more fuel-efficient and competitive fleet.
Deep-water species of fish were targeted as part of the first renewal programme, but scientists attached to the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea recently expressed concern about the state of these stocks and said that some species were already being heavily exploited and were showing signs of decline.
The scientists cautioned that they were working from minimal data.
