Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome all of the delegates. Ultimately, the 35% of the waters affected by the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union are such that we are almost setting ourselves up for a renegotiation of the Common Fisheries Policy rather than a review or tinkering with it. While Brexit presents very few opportunities, this may be one of them. The territorial waters of this nation, being an island, also make up a large proportion of European waters. We should be using this fact in every way possible to make our position very clear, particularly given all conservation measures and other developments. If all of the boats currently fishing in British waters have to come to the remaining EU waters, there will be very many of them coming into what are, in effect, Irish waters. On the point made about putting more cows and calves into a field, there would be less grass and some of them would starve. It needs to be brought home to the negotiators that we need to consider putting everything on the table and engaging in a full renegotiation of the Common Fisheries Policy to ensure the industry in Ireland will not be left in circumstances in which it will just die. That is really what will happen unless something big happens.

On the engagements the delegates have had so far which I acknowledge have been limited enough, is there concern of the level about which I speak? Are officials from the Department and elsewhere still finding their feet in respect of what exactly they will do? Do they have a plan and a vision as to where this can take them? What is going to happen?