Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Conservation is the appropriate measure. The exclusion of vessels over 18 m, forcing them out of inshore waters, will help the biomass of fish stocks to recover. I intend to robustly defend this decision regardless. I have instructed officials in the Department that if there is any attempt to undermine this in the courts we will challenge it head on. Let us be frank about this; we cannot continue or allow to continue what has happened. This is definite.

What I then want to see happen is that as the biomass for the various species starts to recover, we support fishermen in their ethical exploitation of these stocks. We will support through funding the infrastructure that is necessary and deemed necessary, not only in Clare but along our coastline, as well as looking at the supports that will be necessary to assist fishermen and women remaining in the business while the stocks recover. We are now on a journey towards conservation for fishing. It has to be done in a more ethical way and this is a challenge. I also want to give a shout out to the inshore fishermen and women who have been doing this ethically all their lives. It was unfortunate that some who have a different business model, and they do good work out in the ocean, sought to come in and clear the inshore area for short-term gain. It was legal at the time and it is not now, and I intend to robustly defend the legislative position we have taken. I thank Deputy Cooney for his interest.