Mr. Greg Casey:

I want to correct the record on a few issues. When Ireland joined the EU in 1972, we signed up to the Common Fisheries Policy of 1970, and Ireland's maritime jurisdiction at that point was 12 miles. In fact, it was six miles. We did not have 200 miles out into the Atlantic as we have now. That did not come until November 1976. From 1 January 1977, the EU set up a scheme whereby, over the following six years, 1977 to 1982, inclusive, all fishing interests - Irish, British, Dutch, French, whatever - would be enabled and entitled to go and fish within their own waters and in the waters of next-door neighbours, for example, Irish vessels by the west coast of Scotland, the British coming west of the English Channel, and the French and Spanish coming up.

Arising from that, the Common Fisheries Policy of 1983 arrived. The Common Fisheries Policy of 1983 was essentially based on the landing figures that were given by national governments for each of the countries for that six-year reference period. At that point, there was nothing to prevent and nothing to stop any boat in Ireland from fishing for mackerel. In fact, there was an enormous mackerel fishery in Berehaven at that stage, which was essentially a co-fishery between Lough Swilly and Berehaven for the winter months, where Russian factory ships came and took mackerel from all Irish boats. A large number of boats from the south west fished, caught and landed mackerel into those Russian factory ships. Those same factory ships were in Lough Swilly and boats in the north west landed fish in them. The first four so-called tank boats of the Irish fleet were bought at that stage by a number of people, including a gentleman from the Aran Islands, a gentleman from Donegal and a gentleman from Castletownbere. They formed the basis of the Killybegs fleet at that stage.

The split between the tank boat segment and what one would call the dry hold segment, the polyvalent segment, did not arise under the 1992 Common Fisheries Policy until the mid-1990s. The apartheid relating to the mackerel quota was then imposed, with the policy being formulated between 1992 and 1995 and then put in place. From then on, polyvalent boats were effectively shut out of the industry and those involved with them have only gradually managed to claw their way back in by pleading on their bended knees. People on those boats have been involved in fishing mackerel from their childhoods and landing fish into the factory ships in Berehaven. They are now established back at 13%, but what they want is a fair crack at the whip to be able to catch fish.

That is granted to Ireland by Europe, to be divided up by the Minister in accordance with rational, reasonable and logical criteria. There has never been any reasonable rationale, other than "what we have, we hold". It is very important to note that if one looks at the records from ten years ago, from 2006, 2007 and 2008, the total allowable catch, TAC, granted to Ireland for mackerel at that time was 63,000 tonnes per year, 65,000 tonnes per year and 67,000 tonnes per year, respectively. There was payback for an over-catch of about 10,000 to 12,00 tonnes taken from that but that was the TAC. The TAC granted to Ireland over the past three or four years has been significantly above that baseline level from ten years ago. Two or three years ago the amount granted to Ireland came to 107,000 tonnes. That was maintained at 13% to 87%. It dropped down this year to 85,000 tonnes. That apartheid simply cannot continue, on any rational basis.