Mr. Patrick Murphy:

I thank the Deputy for his questions which are very appropriate. He is speaking about the future of our industry and this is what we are here to discuss. My colleagues have pointed out we are united on many of the points being raised today. Mr. O'Donoghue is correct that the producer organisations accepted the reality that there would be some sort of decommissioning scheme. The Irish South and West Fish Producer's Organisation did not sign up to the terms and conditions, which were presented to us less than 24 hours before we were to decide whether or not we agreed. My directors were online and said the south and west producers would not sign up to them and I was glad they did not do so. They are totally inadequate as we have seen and as we have pointed out here today.

I agree with what Mr. O'Donoghue has said. Here is the agreement that everyone is looking for. The trade and co-operation agreement Brexit adjustment reserve fund was brought to Ireland because it was recognised in Europe, for the first time in the history of the European Union, that Ireland is the most disproportionately affected of all countries. How do we know this? The proof is in front of us. We got one fifth of the entire Brexit adjustment reserve fund. One of the smallest countries in Europe got one fifth of it. Out of €5 billion we got €1.1 billion. It was also acknowledged that the most disproportionately affected industry, where we will see people losing their jobs and livelihoods, is the fishing industry. Absolutely we should get the proper funding for people who have fished all their lives, who are in families who have done so for generation after generation and who, unfortunately, as my colleague Mr. Ward has clearly pointed out, are disillusioned. I would strengthen this word. I would say they have given up all hope. Morale is on the floor. This is why we took the boats to Dublin and Cork. Our fishers have given up. Imagine an entire industry on its knees not just from this but because of Covid, bad weather and regulations. They are being put in an impossible situation. The figures state they cannot survive. The only way for some was to take decommissioning.

To add insult to injury, we are forcing people out of the industry and devaluing their assets. It makes no sense for us to allow this to happen. This is why we hope the committee will speak on our behalf to the Minister and the Taoiseach. This is where it needs to go, as was pointed out by my colleagues. The biggest powerhouses in Europe have no problem standing up for fishers. We have seen President Macron stand up. The French people are willing to turn off the power to the English people. They are willing to cut off food supplies to the English people to get across their point. We need the same level of determination from the people who represent us at the highest level in Europe, as Mr. O'Donoghue has said. We are not waiting two years. We want this now. We want our country to go to Europe and tell people these are the facts, that they agree with the facts and ask them to do something about it. We need parity in our industry throughout Europe. We united at the start to get this parity. Now we have been cut adrift. This has to be addressed by our Taoiseach, our Minister and our Minister for Foreign Affairs. If it is not then we are wasting our time. We will keep saying the same thing to the committee but we need it to carry this message for us. I thank the committee and I thank Deputy Brown for highlighting the fact it will be virtually impossible for young people to come into the industry because there will not be an industry there for them.