Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I apologise. I had to pop away from the meeting for a few minutes to do a radio interview and I may have missed some of the questions. I apologise if I repeat some of the questions. The witness may already have answered some of them.

I would like clarity on the control plan that is being submitted. Will this include the demersal and pelagic sectors? Is it a control plan for both?

There were many references in the opening statement to the weighing equipment and the methods of weighing fish in the factories by the sector. Will the witnesses talk me through the process and the equipment the SFPA, as the regulator, uses for the weighing of fish in order to do checks and so on? I would be interested to hear that.

One of the functions of the SFPA, as stated in the opening statement, is food safety controls. With the removal of and the absence of the control plan, and given the situation whereby the sector is being forced to weigh fish on the pier, in this interim period can the SFPA guarantee the high quality and safety of our product, for which Ireland has become renowned? Where fish is being weighed on the pier can the SFPA give those guarantees?

My final point has already been touched on by some members but I have yet to hear a resolution, a solution or a proper answer. It is about the relationship between the SFPA and the sector itself. I have been a Deputy since February 2020, which is not that long I have been getting to know the industry and how everything works. In that short space of time, it has become very apparent to me that the relationship between the SFPA and the sector is at an all-time low. I mean rock bottom. There is no point in skirting around this and pretending it is not the case. I am not sure if the witnesses have seen any of the images of the peaceful protests in Cork and Dublin by the industry.

Some placards were visible at those protests, which referred to the SPFA. It demonstrates how the industry feels it has been let down by the SFPA.

It goes both ways, however. In the written submission we received from the SPFA, paragraph after paragraph related to fraudulent methods, methods by which in-factory weighing can be circumvented and the potential for fraud. Reference was made to the one proven case and to the other case in the courts. Yet, and I will double-check this, little or no reference was made to the overwhelming majority of those engaged in this industry being completely compliant. That sets a narrative and an attitude of us and them. It appears that way to me as someone trying to represent people and who is an onlooker, an outsider almost, and not involved with the SPFA or the sector itself. Would the witnesses agree that the relationship in this regard is at an all-time low and that something drastic must be done to mend it? I refer to healing wounds, opening dialogue, reaching out to the industry and starting afresh. The relationship now is fairly toxic and this is getting us nowhere. I would love a response to these questions, and particularly regarding that last point about the relationship between the SFPA and the industry.