Mr. Michael O'Brien:

As I said earlier Twitter is a very public platform but it just does not appear to be the platform of choice for migrant fishers. Eight months into the role, I have become acquainted directly with approximately 150 fishers and WhatsApp is the platform of choice. It is relatively secure. They also use Facebook, which can be used with private settings. That is how they communicate.

On the question of town hall meetings, it is difficult to get many fishers together in one place and at one time. A typical voyage or fishing trip could be two to three weeks and sometimes they might land on shore and go back out on the same day. If a town hall meeting is to be organised, particularly for the prawn sector, it should be on the night of a full moon. Some Deputies and Senators may laugh if they are unaware because on such a night all the vessels would be in Howth Harbour. The prawns behave differently and cannot be caught easily and that is when fishers will be available. I cannot vouch for fishers of other species but a certain critical mass of fishers could be gathered if it was timed that way. Otherwise, there might not be a great attendance.