An Irish fishermen’s association has called for immediate political action to alleviate the soaring cost of fuel which it says is causing hardship and anxiety for the industry.
Chief executive of the Killybegs Fishermen’s Organisation, Seán O’Donoghue said that the Irish government has been given approval for such a support scheme and similar are already in place in many other EU member states.
“It genuinely beggars belief that our minister can stand idly by and effectively refuse to release funds which the European Parliament has approved for fishermen in light of the extreme escalation in fuel costs for their vessels,” said Mr O’Donoghue.
“We met Minister McConalogue on July 6th and implored him to act swiftly with the average Irish fishing trawler now paying 70% more for diesel since March 2022 to remain at sea to earn a living.
“Approximately half of our members gross earnings are now gone on putting fuel in their boats.
“Moreover, it’s placing Irish vessels at a major disadvantage compared to our EU counterparts which have had the scheme implemented in their respective countries. The government is trying to fob us off with pithy soundbites stating they’re ‘acutely conscious’ of our plight but that’s simply no use.
“This is a real bitter pill which fishermen cannot swallow. The money is in place, it’s just a matter of the Minister acting and affording the industry some support in a time of spiralling need,” he concluded.
Mr O’Donoghue said that the fuel support package should not be confused with a scheme to mitigate against the loss of €35million of mackerel quota since Brexit.
