Manus Boyle (Fine Gael)

First, I congratulate the boys. It is great to see them here. Normally, I would be with them on that side of the room. It is different sitting over here. I am so glad they are here. They are representing their industry and it is the same with the people on Microsoft Teams. This is long overdue. We should have had this ten or 15 years ago and maybe the industry would not be in the mess it is in now. I have a couple of questions, which I will put generally. Mr. Byrne referred to us sending back €230 million. Was the Government responsible for sending that back or was it Europe? That is just one question. I will let the witnesses answer them then.

In the first session, the Minister of State said that the fishing people of Ireland are resilient, which I know we are. Think of where we started off at four years ago and where we have come to now. We have no visible gains but we are gaining ground around Ireland and through the coastal communities. In the future, is there any place that we can make wee ones to secure the small and big fishers? What are the deals that can be made with Europe? Earlier, we talked about the Icelandic deals. Can we score one there that will help the industry to stay alive and try to keep going? These questions are open to the three witnesses and whoever wants to answer is welcome to do so.