Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chairman for allowing me to contribute at this stage. I thank the Minister for his detailed presentation.

I will start by dealing with Brexit. As a Donegal man, I do not need to tell the Minister about the Irish fishing industry's serious concern regarding the ongoing talks. As he will know, 34% of the entire catch of the Irish fleet is taken from what would be termed UK waters, or certainly what the UK would term as UK waters. The impact of the British Government getting what it is seeking would be devastating. Even the offer of 15% to 18% returns by Michel Barnier has gone down very badly with the fishing sector here. The Minister will recall the presentations made by the fishing organisations to the previous committee on agriculture. I pointed out to the then Minister, Deputy Creed, we would need to be very clear with our colleagues in the European Union that if the talks were to continue the way they were going and serious concessions were given to the British Government, we would need to renegotiate the Common Fisheries Policy as it applies to Irish waters. There are major concerns about the European fishing fleet that will be displaced from British waters and that it will intensify the demand on the fishery in Ireland's waters. I appreciate it is all termed an exclusive economic zone and as European waters but, in real terms, our job is to protect the interests of our fishing communities. There is already real anger among all our coastal communities that we are not getting our fair share of what are Irish fisheries, therefore, we cannot concede anything here. We cannot go backwards.

I want to get some clarification from the Minister. What conversations is he having with his European counterparts on the next steps to be taken? Even if 18% is the final concession, that will have a major impact, mostly on Irish fisheries.

We need to get a sense of the Minister's post-Brexit plan for engaging on the Common Fisheries Policy. This matter must be reopened because it clearly cannot stay as it is. The Minister referred to the total allowable catch and the annual quota negotiations. The negotiations are ongoing but there must be a realisation that this will have a serious impact on Ireland. I would like a sense of what is happening in that regard.

On the wider issues relating to quota, I recently undertook some investigations in respect of bluefin tuna. I have submitted a parliamentary question to the Minister on the matter. We need to start talking about this. Bluefin tuna is in very good health in Irish waters. It is a predatory fish which feeds on a whole range of species in our waters. We only have a catch and release agreement at the moment. It is worth looking at the internationally agreed approach to this matter. The market for this species, particularly that in Japan, is very lucrative. The European Union's share of the international quota has increased by 73% since 2016. An additional 800 tonnes are now available to the EU. Of that, Ireland has not secured 1 tonne. This is despite the fact that stocks of bluefin tuna are plentiful in our waters. Our fishermen are out on chartered boats with tourists, with a catch and release policy for one of the most lucrative fish in the world. These fish get fattened up in our waters and then head out and get caught outside the 12-mile limit of the Irish exclusive economic zone by a range of international boats. We are fattening them up to enrich international fishermen and that is totally unjust. We have to revisit the bluefin tuna quota. What are the Minister's views on this matter?

We have to look at the sustainability of various species. One cannot argue with the approach presented in the sustainability impact assessment and the work of the Marine Institute. We have to look after and sustain the various species. The science is the science but the problem is - and everything goes back to this - the share of the fishery available to the Irish fleet. This is based on historical fishing practices from a time when Ireland was not equipped or resourced to avail of it. This is our marine resource, however. If we were ever going to take a complacent approach, Brexit has changed all that. There is no room for complacency. We need straight talking about what resource is available in the Irish waters and what share we will secure for the Irish fleet.

I refer to the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund. We are entering a new seven-year period. As Donegal men and Inishowen men, it is mostly the inshore fleet that we interact with. What is the Minister's vision for the inshore fleet to benefit from the next seven-year programme. I know the inshore fishing organisations have corresponded with the Minister recently. There has been a bit of a resource there for the aquaculture sector. The tie-up scheme was completely under-utilised. It was too late in the day. They have experienced a huge financial hit from Covid. What financial resources can the Minister provide now to the inshore sector now which has been hit really hard by the global pandemic and the crisis of the market? It is a question about the inshore sector now and the next seven years.