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

I am not saying the Deputy's suggestion about the position with regard to the UK was in any way different from what I indicated, but demersal is important that people know what the position is in that regard. Either Britain has recognised that the Common Fisheries Policy is good in terms of fish stocks or it has recognised that it cannot renegotiate the CFP. Either way, it is not part of the package being renegotiated.

We are interested in trying to secure a bigger slice of the cake for Ireland and I will take any opportunity I can to achieve this objective. However, I must try, year after year, to secure the best deal I can for fishermen in terms of providing practical assistance and income. That is where the Department focuses its efforts.

The Common Fisheries Policy was agreed during the Irish Presidency of the Council of the European Union and under Ireland's chairmanship, and I am very attached to it. To argue that there is no vision for fishing is completely untrue. The new Common Fisheries Policy is a more visionary document for fishing than we have seen since Ireland joined the European Union. We have committed to apply science in a much more rigorous manner. We have committed to a model of sustainable fishing and maximum sustainable yield. We have committed to regional decision making in a much more effective manner and we have committed to ending the disgraceful practice of discards, which is not the fault of fishermen but a by-product of flawed policy. We are trying to ensure stocks in Irish waters, some of the most fertile fishing grounds on the planet, will grow and become more sustainable. We will achieve this, with our European Union colleagues, through a Common Fisheries Policy. I would love to be able to renegotiate the percentage allocation for Ireland under arrangements that have been in place for many years. However, as that is not currently an option, we are acting in those areas in which we have options.

On maximum sustainable yield, a commitment has made to apply maximum sustainable yield by 2015, where possible, and to all stocks by the end of 2019. When there are good socioeconomic reasons for not applying it immediately, we should not do so. That is what was agreed in the Common Fisheries Policy. There are plenty of people who would like to rewrite the document to suggest that we should insist on maximum sustainable yield for all stocks without delay. That is a purist view from a conservation perspective and one that would devastate fishing communities if implemented. The objective is to try to introduce this approach over time to give the fishing industry an opportunity to change and adapt while remaining in business. Everyone will benefit when we reach our destination. That is our objective and it will be the tone I adopt when I contribute to the debate next week. I will seek to ensure that we apply the policy piece by piece, sector by sector and stock by stock, whether this applies to the introduction of the ban on discards, the obligation to land or maximum sustainable yield. Clearly, there are very strong socioeconomic arguments to be made on some of the stocks.

The information available to me indicates that the position as regards prawns would have been 10% worse if it were not for the quota uplift. In other words, instead of a reduction of approximately 9.5%, the quota would have been reduced by 19.5%.