Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate that and apologise to the witnesses for missing the earlier part of the meeting. I was chairing the Dáil earlier and I must resume the Chair shortly. However, I speed read their presentations.

On the voisinagearrangements, at the time the legislation was published, I presumed its purpose was to provide a legal basis for the Lemass-O'Neill agreement reached in the 1960s. Having listened to members and the debate in the Seanad, it is clear that serious concerns arise in this regard. Mr. Boyle stated we should introduce some mechanism to deal with the old arrangement with which he does not agree. I anticipate that something could be introduced to provide a legal basis for what was in place previously.

We could easily decide to withdraw from the London convention when Brexit takes place in two or three years. In the meantime, genuine fishermen have had to tie up their boats. Let me be selfish on this issue, the people I represent in Donegal have small vessels of less than 50 ft. in length. These vessels did not decimate the fisheries off our coast. It was for this reason that I suggested the measures apply to vessels of 15 m or less. The Minister must do something in the interim period because these boats are tied up and some of the fishermen have lost their jobs. Some form of compensation should be paid to them or we should find a way to cater for small vessels. We should introduce a legal basis for the old arrangement. It is too simplistic to suggest pulling out of the London convention and then negotiating with the 27 member states.

On the allocation of mackerel quotas, as a Minister of State in the Department for a number of years, I had delegated responsibilities for marine. I believe this allocation contravenes the explicit commitment given in a ministerial policy decision taken in 2009, which was reviewed and confirmed and 2010. Many times over the years, the industry and others, including me, argued that the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, ICES, is not always correct. This year, it admitted that instead of giving an increase of 14%, the allocation would decrease of 9%. This was in place and the quotas were divvied out. Next year, we will have a double whammy when the mackerel quota is significantly reduced. We hoped the reduction of the 14% would have been implemented this year but it must be done on a Europe-wide basis. The inaccuracy of ICES is disgraceful and despicable.

The 15% reduction in the refrigerated seawater or RSW fleet last year was not raised. Was there a outcry last year arguing that others should suffer as a result of that reduction? I passionately believe that the reason we have a quota of 21.2% of the western tack is the historical performance of the RSW fleet. Now, however, some would like to piggy-back on that. While I am aware that RSW vessels are not equipped to fish for whitefish, if they were able to adapt to fish for whitefish, it would not be acceptable to those involved in the polyvalent and demersal sectors. Following his request for submissions, I made a submission to the Minister pointing out that the polyvalent-pelagic fleet had secured an increase of 750% in mackerel quota since 2000. Politicians like to be all things to all people but we must also be honest with ourselves and realistic. I make no apologies for calling on the Minister in the Dáil, following the faux pas by ICES, to shelve it but it will go on and on. We must be pragmatic, which means the decision will have to be taken sooner rather than later.

I do not have to tell anyone in the polyvalent or RSW sector that fishermen make substantial investments in their boats. I shudder to think what would happen if the waters off the north west coast of Scotland were to be shut off to Irish vessels. Irish fishermen would still catch fish in the Irish Sea but they would catch poorer quality fish at the end of the season when prices are at their lowest.

I do not want to take advantage of the Chairman's generosity but I wanted to make those points rather than ask questions. I hope we can sort out the voisinagearrangements and the small fishermen who are affected. Some degree of realism is also needed in the debate on mackerel quotas.