Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chairman. I know he is under pressure so I will try to be brief and to the point. I thank the witnesses for being here this evening because it is very important and very timely. Over the past number of years, I have been putting down parliamentary questions and raising issues on the plight of inshore fishing families.

The one thing that never ceases to amaze me, as explained perfectly by Mr. Desmond a moment ago, is not a whammy but a double whammy of knock-on effects, including "why you cannot" or "why we cannot" or "why we are not able to". It is like every door you go to the door is closed firmly in your face. I am, however, looking at other sectors and we see that there is assistance. There are bailouts, there is help, there is assistance, there are tax concessions and every type of support - and rightly so but the one group of people continuously left behind is those who get a full-time or, more predominantly now, a part-time income from inshore fishing. In the county I represent, while it is not big numbers, I have a lot of these people and, my goodness, they are as entitled to be taken care of as anybody else, no matter what sector they are in. I am aware that the witnesses' groups do this in an excellent way. They are also entitled to have their politicians standing up talking for them and fighting and advocating on their behalf.

I am coming to the nub of my question. What can be done even now to try and save these families and the people who are involved in trying to make a modest or part-time living? What can we do? This is why it is so timely that the witnesses are here today and so important that they are here. Whether we are in opposition or whether it is Government-supporting representatives, this is a cross-party issue and every one of us should be singing off the same hymn sheet. This sector is in dire trouble. Do we want to lose it or save it? I believe we are actually at that type of crossroads. We have lost so much of what I would call our core important things, for instance in different types of farming. Small farming has gone out the window. It is getting more and more difficult. We have lost Bord na Móna and we have lost a lot of great things we had in the past. One thing that I certainly do not want to see us losing is the whole validity and viability of a person being able to be involved in fishing in a small way. It might be a part-time or full-time living for that person and their family. It is very important. I ask the representatives to work with us in trying to help us to help them and the people they represent. I thank with witnesses for representing the people in a good strong way. It is fine that the lobby groups are pulling their weight, but as I have said, every door they go to is being closed in their face.