Marcella Corcoran Kennedy (Offaly, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for their presentations, which will be a great help in our consideration of the Bill.

I have a question for Dr. Brennan. She stated: " ... the Bill would enable island fishers to return to a low-impact practice of fishing quota species seasonally, rather than fishing non-quota species all year around." Is that a problem currently and what are the figures? Are some non-quota species being overfished?

She has been engaging with islanders on Arranmore and Barra in the Outer Hebrides. How far did she get with her proposal that they should engage with policy makers and how did she propose they do that? Has she measured any success in her research?

She referred to the European Commission's statement about small-scale fishers taking the initiative. Has it made other such comments or suggestions about small-scale fishers helping themselves? It is a David and Goliath situation as far as I can see.