Mr. Patrick Murphy:

I thank the committee and the Chairman for giving us the opportunity to attend today. We would slightly disagree with some of the points made by Mr. O'Donoghue in terms of the fall-out and what this will mean for Irish fishermen. Europe bases its share-out of fish on relative stability. This means that a certain percentage of fish was given to each country. To give an example, if 1,000 tonnes of fish are available and England decides to increase its share, from its current 20%, that is 200 tonnes, to 300 tonnes, this will leave 700 tonnes of fish remaining. However, if relative stability remains in place, Ireland will still get the same share of fish, which is 10%, meaning it will lose 30 tonnes of fish. If England takes back its waters, which it has indicated it intends, it is looking, as Mr. O'Donoghue quite elegantly stated, to increase its share of fish in its waters. One of the main access routes for us for the prawn fishery is in English waters. Approximately 50% of the fish is caught there. As shown in Mr O'Donoghue's charts, that is one of the biggest and most important fisheries to England. Therefore, there will be a huge temptation for it to increase its share in that fishery. Rolling back, this will mean that Ireland will get a share of the fish in accordance with the way that it is being given out by our European counterparts, so our share will automatically reduce. Access is, as Mr. O'Donoghue stated, a huge issue.

Not only that, we have a situation where we are not at the negotiating table. Again, Europe is negotiating for Irish fishing rights and Irish waters, but we have no one looking after our interests. We are expecting some other country to put our needs ahead of their own and we have seen how that has gone in the past. We are seeking assurances that the EU negotiators that will meet with their UK counterparts do not use the access to valuable fishing grounds and natural resources and that they are not traded as a means to achieve benefits in non-related industries or services. The UK's exit will, as depicted in Mr. O'Donoghue's map, result in the changes in the 22% we now have. England has 33%. When that is removed, our share of EU waters will increase to 33%. Approximately 44% of the fish landed in Europe is caught in Irish waters, but our share-out is way less.

The EU's common fishery policy is founded upon and guided by the concept of relative stability. Over the past 25 years, some member states have come to feel they are entitled to a share of European fish stocks that is wholly disproportionate to the extent of their own waters and stocks. Ireland, unfortunately, has paid a grievous price for the conferring of the wealth of our waters on the other member states. This highlights the extra problem that will occur. We have no negotiators at the table negotiating Ireland's fishing rights. Under relative stability, we will lose out. We attended a recent meeting with officials from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. We were told that, under relative stability rules, we would have the same percentage of less fish because the UK has already indicated that it intends to increase its catches and that this is definitely on the cards.

I have provided a written answer to some of the questions asked in the e-mail the committee sent. Should I go through them now or will we leave them until later?