Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

From the inquiries I have made, the decommissioning scheme we put together is more generous to applicants than schemes being brought in by other member states. We have tried to reflect the impact for those that do take it up as much as possible. It is a very significant decision. The other point is that we were the first to do decommissioning. I put together the sea fisheries task force to advise me on how we could do this. Nobody ever wants to decommission. We all want to have more fish, but we have to live and deal with the reality we are dealt and which is in front of us. The representatives of fishermen, fisherwomen and the stakeholders, asked me to put that scheme in place to deal with that challenge. Subsequently, we have seen other member states come forward with decommissioning schemes post Brexit. A lot of people would have been saying to me at the start that we were the only ones doing decommissioning and that obviously we were the only ones being hit by Brexit. I always said that across the EU, pretty much all fleets have been hit by Brexit. We have taken a disproportionate burden, which is something I want to see addressed. The fact that other member states have now moved to introduce decommissioning schemes is a reflection of the fact that Brexit has impacted on them too. I have always been clear on that. They have been impacted less than we have and that is something I would like to continue seeking to address. I will also seek to make sure it is part of the considerations of common fisheries policy review.