Mr. Brendan Byrne:

I thank the Senator and acknowledge his contribution. The reality is that Brexit was a massive hammer blow to the industry but from 2017 to 2020, the decline had started albeit the Brexit transfer of 26% of the value really hammered the industry to the ground. The Senator, in his contribution, has hit the nail on the head. We need to do things differently. Today, we are talking about the fishing industry but to take away 26% of the value of any industry in the economy for a political decision yet think things will continue as normal and there will be no impact as a consequence of that is economic naivety, and I think we need to get out of that space. That is a message that needs to be driven home to the Minister, the Department and everyone. This is not going to go away. The extension confirms it is going to be the reality forever more ad infinitum and we need to do things differently. That includes our Department, industry and how we engage right at the heart of Europe. That is the challenge that faces all of us. We can do it. The great thing is that the demand for Irish fish has never been as high. I attended a trade fair in Barcelona and we were sold out within hours albeit we are reduced in what we are selling but the demand is massive. Also, as an industry, rather than it employing 17,000 people, I should be here today talking about how I can grow that to 35,000 or 36,000 people over the next ten years. That potential is there but not if we keep doing what we have done for the past 20 years and that is a mindset that has to change.