NAVAL SERVICE patrolling at sea is to be cut by 200 days, the Department of Defence has confirmed.
The Department of Defence also told The Irish Timesthat "further discussion is required" before proceeding with contracts for two new ships promised by Minister for Defence Willie O'Dea.
The cutback in patrol days to monitor fishing activity was signalled by Mr O’Dea on Budget day but no details were given at the time. He also said that Air Corps flying hours would be “optimised”.
Mr O’Dea estimated the savings at €2.2 million as part of a 4 per cent reduction in defence spending.
He also said that €800,000 would be saved by axing the national sail-training programme, and the Government had already returned the insurance for the sunken Asgard IIto the Department of Finance.
A leading fishing industry organisation has expressed concern about the Naval Service patrolling cutback given the pressure on conservation and new EU agreements for seasonal closures to protect stocks on the Porcupine Bank.
Lorcan Ó Cinnéide, Irish Fish Producers Organisation chief executive, has also taken issue with Minister of State Tony Killeen’s assertion last week that satellite monitoring and improved control measures on land would ensure the cuts had little impact.
“We need a Naval Service, with one of the largest sea areas in the EU,” Mr Ó Cinnéide said. “There is no substitute for physical checks at sea when it comes to accurate information.”
Naval Service boarding checks on non-Irish vessels have been hampered in the past by inadequate information given by other EU member states, including France and Spain, which have substantial quotas in Irish waters.
Weakness in fisheries controls identified by the EU Court of Auditors prompted EU fisheries ministers to agree on a new and common approach of control from “net to plate”, backed up by a traceability system. Two months ago a Government decision on replacing the Naval Service’s ageing fleet was deferred.
This brought criticism from representative organisation PDFORRA, which said large holes had been found in the LE Emerand there was concerns among crews about sister ships LE Aislingand LE Aoife.
The EU’s Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) is currently under review, and a recent conference on Arranmore, Co Donegal, has called for a special status to be given to island fisheries to ensure their economic survival.
Fianna Fáil MEP Pat the Cope Gallagher agreed that the islands had a special case, and urged the Arranmore community to make a submission on the CFP review to Brussels before the end of the year. He was speaking at a conference chaired by Hugh Rodgers, chairman of the Árainn Mhór Island Fishing Committee.