Martin Ferris (Kerry North-West Limerick, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Minister is aware of the situation. He has been around the country and seen the state of coastal communities and how they have suffered in the past. He is aware of the consequences of a bad negotiation. Fishing has probably been the most depressed sector in the economy. That is only evident when one goes into areas where there was vibrancy 40 years ago but there is no vibrancy evident now. Reference was made to the improvement in the catches since 1973. The Minister said Ireland’s total catch was approximately 87,700 tonnes at that point and that it increased to 314,000 tonnes in 2014. I assure the Minister there was much more than 87,700 tonnes of fish caught in 1973. The additional tonnes were just not declared. A lot more than 314,000 tonnes of fish were caught and they were caught by those using far inferior vessels. I wish the Minister good luck. He should be conscious of the social consequences of a bad agreement.