Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)

Senator Craughwell has raised his hand. He may come in very briefly as we are almost out of time. In fact, the Senator has left the call.

I thank all the witnesses for attending in person and for engaging as they have done. They have been forthright in their analysis of the issues affecting their members, the sector and the wider fishing industry. They should rest assured that we have heard their concerns. As Chair of the committee, I will ensure the issues they raised are ventilated on the floor of the Dáil and brought to the Minister's attention. The witnesses are meeting with the Minister after our engagement and I am sure he will give a very good account of those issues.

I thank members for their participation, their really good time-keeping - we are getting better at that - and the quality of the questions and interactions. It has been a really illuminating meeting. We need to do more. Mr. Desmond made the point very well in asking what the committee can do. We can shine a light on bad practice and highlight issues where there definitely is room for improvement. As I said when I sat in this chair for the first time, Ireland needs an assertive and ambitious maritime and fisheries policy. In my reading of things, we have never had that in the history of the State. Others might disagree but my view is we have never had that and now is the time to do it. We are an island nation and we have this immense natural resource at our disposal. We must ensure it is used in the national interest and used responsibly. The inshore sector has a critical role to play in that. I again thank the witnesses for their participation and wish them the best of luck for their meeting this afternoon.