asked the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries if he is aware that the Chairman of Bord Iascaigh Mhara has stated recently that one fair sized fishing trawler can earn more than a farm of good arable land of 80 to 100 acres; if this is so, what steps he has taken to encourage more people into the fishing industry; and what is the income of the owner of such a fishing trawler as compared with that of a farmer with 100 acres of good arable land.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Fishing Industry.
36.
I have seen the statement referred to in the question which I assume was made in the context of the comprehensive development programme which was recently agreed on for the more rapid expansion of the sea-fishing industry. One of the major objectives of this programme, as I informed the House in the course of the debate on the Fisheries Vote, is to increase the catching power of the industry and to generate more employment in it. As the incomes derived by the owner of a fishing trawler and a farmer are dependent on so many factors it would not be possible to deal satisfactorily with the matter of income within the scope of a reply to a Parliamentary Question.