Task force believes immigrants could ease fishing crew shortage

A government task force has called for simpler work-permit procedures for non-nationals to meet the chronic crew shortage in the fishing industry.

A focused immigration programme of skilled labour was essential, and State-backed induction training in the seafood industry should also be provided, according to the task force report, which was presented yesterday to the Minister for the Marine, Mr Fahey.

The Minister has described the report as "pioneering", providing "food for thought", and he intends to assess the recommendations.

The document recommends radical changes to the tax and social welfare status of Irish crews to encourage people to stay in the industry, and urges immediate enactment of legislation to make basic safety training compulsory.

A total of 28 fishermen, eight of them Irish, lost their lives off the Irish coast last year in the worst period in a decade for fishing-related accidents.

The report says State grant-aid for safety equipment should be conditional on certified training. It calls on the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) to clarify "unambiguously" the responsibilities of skipper/owners for the safety of their crew, and to strengthen occupational health and safety legislation for all fishing vessels.

A District Court ruling last year alarmed the industry when it found that fishing crews were responsible for their own safety.

The report says tax incentives should be made available to seafood companies, employees and self-employed fishermen to overcome barriers to vocational training courses that improve safety and work skills. All fishing vessels should be inspected annually, it says, to ensure their statutory life-saving equipment is on board and in date.

It says the Department of Marine and Natural Resources Marine Survey Office (MSO) should establish a computerised life-raft database to ensure all vessel-owners are notified automatically of the annual service date for life-rafts. A similar system should be devised for other safety equipment.

The report, with 63 recommendations, was compiled by a task force chaired by Mr Patrick Keating, a former director of the Irish Aviation Authority. Significantly, it says all fishing communities, irrespective of thresholds or limits, should be eligible for inclusion in existing and future urban/rural tax incentive renewal schemes.

It says to safeguard coastal employment opportunities there is a need to develop national policy guidelines on distribution of fleet tonnage to ensure it does not fall into the hands of a few larger players.

The task force was initiated by Mr Fahey's predecessor, Dr Michael Woods, in October 1999, and was charged with recommending initiatives to improve training and retain staff in the seafood industry.

Copies of the Report of the Task Force on Training and Employment in the Irish Seafood Industry are available from the Marine Services Division, Bord Iascaigh Mhara, tel 012144100, e-mail:info:bim.ie or website www.bim.ie