Martin Ferris (Kerry, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Okay. The big thing here, or what is being conveyed to me, is that there appears to be a reluctance to give any of the quota to the island fishermen or the small operator. I am sure that if everybody got together and looked at the benefits this would bring to a disadvantaged area, most people would consider it a good thing to do. We have to find a mechanism here. I understand the concerns and so forth but we could draft amendments to this Bill that, perhaps, would get people over the line on it. At the end of the day what we are trying to do here is right a wrong. Deputy Martin Kenny put it very well. People living on islands are doubly discriminated against because they do not have access to onshore jobs and so forth and are, therefore, very dependent.

I was involved in commercial fishing and if my memory serves many of the allocations of quota were based on track record. Everybody here knows what I am talking about when I refer to track record. Most people I know who were involved in fishing did not have a track record because they did not declare it. That is the reality. They did not declare it for obvious reasons. They were struggling to make a few bob and if they declared what they were catching they would have had the tax man knocking on the door. The witnesses know that. They also know that there was a nod and a wink to people to declare a track record so they would be able to be beneficiaries down the road. I know all the coastline from Malin Head down to Hook Head. I fished all those areas so I know the fishing community. That is what happened. Some people are very wealthy as a result of fishing. They are making an absolute fortune from it and good luck to them. They are multimillionaires. What we are trying to do here is look after the small operator, and I would like to see another Bill to look after the inshore fishers. They are equally discriminated against and have found themselves with no quota and no chance of quota.

I was very impressed by what Mr. Greg Casey said about the baseline and the fish inside the baseline. These are not EU fish but fish that belong to the Irish nation and should be for the benefit of the Irish nation. However, much of that fish is finding its way into being part of the EU quota. That is a matter for another day, but this committee should certainly consider having a separate meeting to discuss the fish caught from the baseline to the shore.