Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

As Minister, my only objective is to make the most of our marine and fisheries sector, and to support it in every way I can. That is my sole objective. A core objective, as Minister, is to work with it and ensure we have a sustainable fishery into the future. I want to have an industry that is as healthy as possible, delivers maximum employment, makes the most of our coastal resources and the potential for added value and parallel business, and supports businesses and enterprises.

It has been a challenging six months. It has been a challenging four years because we have had the threat of Brexit hanging over us, without knowing what was going to come out of it. We have had a challenging time since then in terms of the impact it has had. I believe the sector is going to be strong, healthy and sustainable as we go into the future. As Minister, I will work in every way I can to ensure that is the case. In the immediate term, we must deal with the short-term impact, which will continue into the future in terms of the impact on our quotas. We must support the sector in adjusting to and building out of that. I will work in any way I can at European level to ensure we get as strong a quota allocation as possible.

The task force is very important. It is made up of representatives for whom fishing is important. It is their livelihood and their profession, and they depend on it. They represent all that is good about our fishing and marine sector. There was an opportunity for members of the public to submit their ideas, suggestions and proposals to the task force. It would have been open to Deputy Collins to submit his ideas and suggestions to the task force for its consideration. That work will continue. I expect it to report on an interim basis, shortly, and on a full-time basis after that. While I have many ideas about how we can bring the industry forward, I want to be guided - it is right that this be the case - by those who know it best and were there a long time before I arrived. I refer to those who work in it, those who live in it and those who were born into it in many cases as well. That is why the task force is the right way to go to guide all of us on how we can develop the sector in the time ahead, and, importantly, how we can support the sector through investment in the time ahead.

In relation to the membership of the task force, it is under the chairmanship of Aidan Cotter. I thank him and the steering committee of Margaret Daly and Mícheál Ó Cinnéide for their Trojan work. I will not give the names of the individual members, but I will give the names of the organisations and stakeholders that are represented. They include the Killybegs Fishermen’s Organisation; the Irish Fish Producers Organisation, the Irish South and West Fish Producers Organisation; the Irish South and East Fish Producers Organisation, the Irish Islands Marine Resource Organisation; the National Inshore Fisheries Forum; one representative from each of the four co-ops around the country that play such an important role in our sector; the Irish Fish Processors and Exporters Association; the Irish Farmers Association, which represents aquaculture and is its main representative body in the country; the fisheries local action groups, FLAGs; the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine; Bord Iascaigh Mhara, which provides the secretariat; Enterprise Ireland; Tourism Ireland; the Local Government Management Agency - we have two county managers from two coastal county councils; LEADER and Údarás na Gaeltachta. It is a very broad and representative membership of those within our coastal communities who depend on fishing for their livelihoods, and consider it the anchor and a key contributor to their businesses and communities.