Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I, too, extend my sympathies following the death of Mr. Hugo Boyle.

In terms of the discussion so far, I caution against the establishment of a Department of the marine. We had one for many years although it might only have had a junior Minister. The reality is that there is no political responsibility so having a Department will not make a difference because Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have never put fishing at the heart of their demands. If we had political responsibility then it would not matter whether we had a specific Department.

Three times the Minister has refused to answer what actual deal he had. He said that he had discussions and meetings with Mr. Barnier and the EU fisheries Commissioner where he outlined Ireland's concerns about the deal. The Minister did not outline any of their responses on three separate occasions, which is telling. Much was made at the June Brexit negotiations that our fishery organisations had tied in with the fishery organisations of the six member states to campaign on fisheries. What response did the Minister and his colleagues in member states to the fisheries deal that Ireland got? If we know that then it might give us some indication of the best way to move forward from here.