Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We swap with the French all the time and sometimes we do so for species where we have a big quota in order to get a crucial quota in the likes of monkfish and prawns. We do it every year and the person sitting on my left is probably the most experienced international negotiator on swaps that I can think of. A good job is quietly done every year to try to ensure we get a little more fish in areas where we need it for the socioeconomic development of the fishing industry and take it from other areas, through negotiation, where we may not need it as much. That might include mackerel when we have a very big quota. That process will continue but if anybody thinks we get something for nothing in these negotiations, I am afraid we do not. We are good friends with the French and we have a great relationship but they will not start handing over quota even if they do not use it, as they know they can use it for swapping purposes.

The only exception is that they do not catch a significant part of their nephrops quota each year and we try to factor that into allocation of quota for nephrops. If we know 15% or 20% of the prawn quota will not be caught because of a track record over a number of years, should the Commission not be factoring in a slightly higher quota for the others? It refuses to do so because of the argument it sets a very dangerous precedent. That is all part of a negotiation process for prawns, which is arguably our most important fishery because of the number of fishermen relying on it. In value terms, mackerel is ahead of the prawn fishery but when we consider the number of boats and people fishing, the prawn quota species - from a socioeconomic perspective of our coastline - is the most important. That is why the prawn fishery is a big priority every December. That is not to say the mackerel fishery is not a big priority.

If people are wondering what we have been doing in advance of this process, we have had multiple meetings at official level with the Commission and the French Minister. I am meeting Ms Diane Dodds, an MEP, next week to discuss her approach for Northern Ireland, as we have a shared interest in the Irish Sea, and prawns in particular in that area. I will also meet Ms Michelle O'Neill, MLA, the Northern Ireland Minister, as I do before every important Council meeting relating to fisheries. She has been very helpful.

We will do everything we can to try to achieve the best outcome and, whether it is good or bad news, we will publish the full figures, warts and all. We will detail the outcome and the economic consequences. I hope we will be able to create a much better story than is being painted here but it will be a big job as it is very difficult this year.