Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I agree that the amendment should be accommodated. As I said earlier, this Bill cannot be taken in isolation. The reaction of fishing communities to this Bill reflects their anger at the long-standing culture of not helping them to build their industry but of holding them back. The approach that is taken in this legislation and by the Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority, SFPA, reflects a culture that is not replicated across Europe. I do not believe there is the same level of enforcement and monitoring of other fishing fleets as we see with our own fleet by our own authorities. Regulators and law enforcers have a job to do but there is a way of doing it which involves respecting the people they are working with, including them in what they are doing and agreeing an approach. This is about the management of a precious resource. Anybody with a brain knows that over-fishing is a damned stupid thing to do. The resource has to be managed, nurtured and replenished but people are intelligent enough to see that under the Common Fisheries Policy, CFP, we have super trawlers around our coast hoovering up fish while the authorities are chasing inshore fishermen and challenging them on their practices. Fishermen are looking out at cities of lights. Famously, in the documentary "Atlantic", a fisherman refers to a super trawler as a "city out there". These boats are 140 m. long; they are massive and are hoovering up fish while we talk about sustainability and enforcement.

As the Minister knows, our fishing communities are really intelligent. Fishing is in their genes and is intergenerational. These communities know that what they are being asked to do makes no sense when one looks at the bigger picture. I understand there will be a debate in the Dáil in the coming weeks on the seafood task force report and our approach to the CFP. The Minister and the Government will be challenged to at least call out what is happening in terms of super trawlers and the fact that we get 15% of the fish under the CFP. Under the quota system, we get 15% in our 200 mile exclusive economic zone. Indeed, in a number of species, it is even more derisory than that. We have a situation where we are going to decommission, potentially, another 60 boats of over 15 m. to 18 m., which means that the fleet will be dramatically reduced from 2006 levels. This dramatic reduction is happening at a time when other European countries are investing in their fishing fleets. Belgium, for example, stands out in that regard.

We will get a chance soon to debate this at length in the Dáil and all of us will contribute to that debate but the seafood task force report, from the perspective of our fishing industry, our catchers, is a white flag of surrender. It demonstrates an unwillingness to confront the injustice that is happening. We have the richest fishing grounds in all of Europe. We are the only island nation in the EU right now. We have a massive resource staring at us. There are lots of Deputies on the Government side from coastal communities and I know they agree with me on this. We have an immense resource but we are giving it away. What we are doing goes against the principles of the European Union. If we were to speak about what is happening in Ireland, not with the political decision makers or some of the huge corporations in the industry but with the average French, Belgian, Spanish or Dutch person, they would not agree with it. I do not believe this is what they stand for but this is what is happening.

All our fishermen can see is more and more barriers and difficulties and they are being driven out of the industry. That is why a number of fishermen will probably avail of decommissioning because they do not see any future for themselves. They do not see any future, which is terrible. If one looks at the size of our fleet in 2006 in comparison with what it will be if fishermen avail of decommissioning, it is a terrible indictment of our country. That is why this legislation cannot be taken in isolation and why Deputy Collins is right to ask that it be seen in the wider context. We are asking for a change of direction from the Government. We may not win the battle today but we will continue this dialogue with the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine.

Like me, he represents a coastal community. In his heart, he knows that the points we are making are correct.