Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses. They know what happened last time. It was out of our control but there were three and a half hours of voting. That was unfair and unexpected.

The main reason they are here today is because I called for a discussion on these issues as the passed through the committee, particularly on quotas and the current situation Irish fishermen find themselves in. The National Inshore Fishermens Association appeared before us last Wednesday and its representatives painted a bleak picture of the reality of the crisis they are facing. While the quotas we are talking about are probably more to do with pelagic fisheries, we need to look at all issues in respect of fishing. To date, the fishermen have not been at the wheel in relation to negotiations for a serious change of mind-set in this country and my worry is we do not debate these issues. Nothing ever changes, everything is expected to be a box-ticking exercise and we move on quickly. At the moment, I believe the Government and the officials must step up their efforts in EU talks regarding Iceland's bid to access Irish fishing waters. We simply need to stand up for our fishing industry, as other EU member states do. This will have devastating consequences for further fish stocks in Ireland if it is to go ahead.

Sadly, the crisis that Irish fishing is facing at present is that the biggest deal it ever got in recent years was a decommissioning deal to get rid of Irish fishermen out of Irish waters. The Irish blue whiting quota for 2024 is valued at approximately €15 million. If the proposed deal proceeds, Iceland, a non-EU member with a population of less than 380,000, will be able to catch nearly the same amount of blue whiting in Irish waters as we do. This is despite our population exceeding 5.2 million. How can this be considered a fair deal? Are we gaining the opportunity to catch an additional €15 million worth of fish in Icelandic and EU waters through the deal? No. We believe that only a small fraction of this amount is being offered to Ireland, yet countries such as Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden are each set to benefit more from the deal than Ireland. How can officials or the Minister portray this as a fair deal when the data suggests otherwise?

As for COM (2023) 495 and COM (2023) 578, the witnesses may state this does not relate to this issue and yes, they can argue that point with me. Certainly, however, the fact that we are not gaining any kind of significant fish quotas that might have our fishing industry and our colleagues out there feel that someone is fighting the case for them means that we are on a hiding to nothing. We are looking at 75% of fish caught in Irish seas being caught by non-Irish fishing boats, which is an astonishing figure. If you go to Castletownbere in west Cork, the road is riddled with Spanish trucks taking Irish fish out of Irish waters. You could not write it. Had it been put together in a comic 20 years ago, people would have rolled around on the floor laughing but it is a fact. The facts are that we are not fighting for extra quota when we should be fighting for serious extra quota, not just a small one for bluefin tuna. The inshore fishermen spoke about that the last day. Irish fishermen have been begging for a bluefin quota but there is nothing. It is as though we are afraid to ask in case we get refused or get a slap on the knuckles. Europe cannot dictate that much to us. Europe has to work with Ireland but we have to seriously challenge Europe for the first time ever and get some significant changes, because we are simply ticking a box year in, year out and nothing decent is happening. As I said the best deal in town is a decommissioning deal, which many fishermen reluctantly took.

In respect of bluefin tuna, the witnesses should explain to us whether a quota is being sought. Why have we not got a quota for Irish fishermen? Have they an explanation or light at the end of the tunnel for the national inshore fishermen who have lost quota?