Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I made the case clearly about the Deputy's first point. I am sure none of us is expecting other member states to be coming forward and offering us their fish. That is a battle and a challenge we will face. I will take every opportunity going forward to try to get a result for our fishermen. As Deputy Pringle knows, having watched fishery negotiations over the years, that is always challenging. The Government has been clear about the importance of burden-sharing coming out of the fisheries agreement. We wanted that to be reflected in the agreement itself, and if there was a give regarding fish, it should be spread across member states. If the outcome of the negotiations does not address that burden, then we will be in a situation at European level where will be engaging with other member states about the challenge of applying burden-sharing afterwards. That is where matters stand. I have made it clear - and Germany is similar - that we are the member state that has sustained the biggest impact as a result of the reallocation. The EU Agriculture and Fisheries Council will meet on Monday and I will take this matter up again at that meeting. We will take it up at every opportunity in order to try to find constructive ways in which it can be addressed.

I have had discussions with the industry and will be engaging in detail about the task force and its composition. I am open to contributions that members of the committee wish to make for consideration.