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

The submissions make for very sober reading. My view of the task force report, which advocates reducing our fishing fleet over a certain size even further, down to only a percentage of what it was in 2006, is that we have waved the white flag of surrender in relation to our interests. The submission from the Irish South and West Fish Producers Organisation draws our attention to the stock book, a very voluminous document. The data, which I have seen myself, indicate we have 15% of the fish in our own waters under the Common Fisheries Policy, CFP. I read out some of the percentages we get in certain areas. There is one body of water where we have 29% of it but we have percentages of species ranging from 3% up to around 6%. The French have less in that particular area but they have percentages ranging from 40% to 60% of the allocation. That is the context.

The point has been made about mackerel and the failure of the EU to stand up to those countries that are clearly defying all of the international rules around sustainability, total allowable catches, TACs, and quotas. The difficulty in all of this, which is heartbreaking, is that some of the producer organisations felt they had a gun to their head. They knew there were people who would not be able to sustain a future and they took the opportunity to decommission. That is what this was - a gun was put to their head. There was no sustainable future and there was no fight from the Government. The Government did not even try. As I said, the Government did not even stand outside the Berlaymont and speak over the heads of the ministers and officials who refuse to do what is right. It did not try to speak to the ordinary, decent people in Spain, Belgium, France, Holland and so on, and ask them if they would tolerate a situation where 85% of the fish in their own waters, a precious natural resource, would be given away.

With this precious natural resource, 85% will be handed away. Worse still, such a high percentage of boats would be decommissioned that those communities would be devastated again and again. The white flag is being flown.

The difficulty for producer organisations which signed up to the task force is that they are dealing with people whose lives have been destroyed. They had a gun to their head and we should call it what it was. They had to do a deal for them. I appreciate that this was unbelievable pressure. I understand why the body from the south and west did not sign up to it and I have sympathy for those who did. This is an absolute tragedy and we should not dress it up as anything else.

We are being forced to decommission such a high percentage of our fleet while French and Belgian governments are investing in strengthening their fleets because of the abundance of stock they have under the Common Fisheries Policy. I just do not see the strategy. I can see the unification of the fishing industry and the protests in Cork and Dublin were good for the heart. I appeal to all of the groups here today to stay united. Of course, they have differences and there are matters of division but they should stay united to challenge the injustice of what we were given under the Common Fisheries Policy.

Mr. Doherty rightly asked the question regarding how President Macron can stand up for his French fishermen, challenging, as he did, the UK Government recently. Why do other countries assert their rights, even aggressively at times in the case of Norway, the Faroe Islands and Iceland when it comes to mackerel? Why do we find ourselves in this position? I know all this commentary from me is not a particular comfort but we must say it out loud. By signing up to this task force and approach, we have waved the white flag.

There clearly has not been burden sharing, which would have been eminently fair. It should have been expected that there be equal burden sharing of losses arising from the EU-UK trade agreement. There are suggestions but this must be first and foremost in the Minister's mind now. I want to get the views of the witnesses on this. When the Minister goes out to negotiate, do the witnesses agree that there must be a levelling-up approach? Whatever is agreed in the forthcoming quota allocation, I know from the submissions it will deal only with a fraction of what must be dealt with. Now is the moment for our Government to make a stand on the disgraceful failure to ensure burden sharing after the EU-UK trade agreement. It must demand that levelling up in these negotiations.

The problem has been put to me that because we have signed up to decommissioning using EU money, we may have damaged our own case. Burden sharing is an immediate responsibility and the witnesses mentioned the failure of the EU to stand up to states in which they are in a partnership. These include Iceland, the Faroes and Norway. There has been a failure to deal with the mackerel question. Ultimately, there is the question of the 15% figure. For Christ's sake, we are talking about fish in our own waters, and, in some cases, the proportion is even more derisory.

Will the groups stand united despite their differences on the task force? I am seeking to get their view. Will they demand that the Government does not allow the fact that EU money is being used to decommission more of our boats as part of a deal where we would not stand up and fight for our rights to fish? The IFPO submission talks about leaving aside opportunities while the decommissioning is proceeding. Some will take up the offer to voluntarily step aside but we should be able to reopen it for people to avail of that opportunity in the future. We should not absolutely wave the white flag, take those vessels out of the fleet and never allow people to go back at it again. What is the point of fighting for additional quota and our fair share of the fish in our waters if we cannot go back to the question of vessels in our fleet and some strategy on the updating and reinvestment for that fleet?

I appreciate that all the witnesses are at this a long time. They are weary and have heard this all before. At some point this must change and the dam must break and the water of freedom and righteousness should flow through. What is happening to our country? I want to get the ideas from the witnesses about what they want from the Taoiseach and the Minister responsible for the marine in these upcoming negotiations and going into next year. What change in approach do they need to see? How are we going to stand up for the rights we have absolutely been screwed over on for so long?