Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The lack of control over our own seas is symbolic of our lack of sovereignty in all areas. We signed over control to the European Commission, an unelected body whose president said in 2010: "The member states have accepted - and I hope they understand it exactly - but they have accepted very important powers of the European institutions regarding surveillance, and a much stricter control of the public finances." That is a frightening message.

Fishing is one of our oldest indigenous industries, providing vital employment for many small coastal communities such as Kilmore Quay in County Wexford. The real issue for the fishing industry, which accepts there has been overfishing and is working towards a healthy recovery of stocks, is just how quotas are divvied up. According to the fishing sustainability impact assessment in 2013, the 2012 total allowable catches, TACs, in waters around Ireland came to 1 million tonnes, of which Ireland got 18% of the value. In 2009 the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, stated Ireland had benefited to the tune of €56 billion in EU funds since membership in 1973. The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea calculates, however, that between 1975 and 2010, the commercial value of Irish fisheries was €201 billion with Ireland taking in a mere 11.8% of that.

It is true when Ireland joined the EEC our fishing industry was not very advanced and, in the short term, we did not have the same reasons as Iceland and Norway had for staying out. Now, however, Iceland lands four times more fish than Ireland, Norway eight times, despite us having more fishing waters. Since we joined and accepted the Common Fisheries Policy, CFP, we have been stalled from expanding what could be potentially one of our largest indigenous industries in our territorial waters. While it is clear the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Coveney, is trying to secure a larger stake for Irish fishermen in the quota system, it is interesting to note that figures show Ireland subsidising the EU with €140 billion over the past 35 years. We do not have a fair deal on fishing quotas. It must be the Government’s priority to change that. I know it will not be easy but it is imperative that the Minister, Deputy Coveney, succeeds in levelling the playing field for Irish fishermen in the next round of CFP negotiations. We bailed out the European banks for them by bailing out our own. It is about time Europe did a bit for us.

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