Clare Fianna Fail TD Timmy Dooley has been appointed Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine with special responsibility for Fisheries and at the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications with special responsibility for the Marine.
The appointment makes good on a government pre-election pledge of a Minister dedicated to marine affairs.
The government committed to “re-establish a Minister of State for Fisheries/Marine who will work closely with the Cabinet minister, and publish a five-year fisheries sector strategy that will include an examination of the processing sector.
Dooley said he was "deeply honoured to take on this challenging role", and promised to "work night and day to do the job."
As Afloat reported earlier, the programme for government published last week by a coalition of Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil, and independent TDs commits to a number of measures under the “marine and fisheries” and “coastal communities” sections in the document.
It promises to “continue to support and promote improvements in fisheries and aquaculture”; “examine incentives for fishers to land their catch in Irish ports”, to support domestic processing; and “fight at EU level for Common Fisheries Policy reforms that ensure fairer quotas for Irish fishers and [that give] due recognition to the proportion of fish species caught in Irish waters”.
It commits to promoting the sustainability of fish stocks, while “ensuring sufficient supply of species to allow fishers into the future derive a fair return”, and to “liaise with fishing stakeholders and request that Revenue examine the current tax allowances for the sector and bring forward recommendations on how the taxation system can further support its progression”.
