Mr. Lorcán Ó Cinnéide:

I understand Deputy Thomas Pringle referred to the structures in place for us to interact with the Department on Brexit. The Minister is organising a seminar next week, to which we have all been invited and in which we will all participate, to consider the sectoral impacts. We participated in a high-level group meeting. We very much welcome such interaction. However, the message we are trying to put across is that given that there are existential implications for all those involved in the industry, it goes to the heart of the use of the catch in processing. We are not jumping up and down to be members of committees, but there is a need for a very clear acknowledgement, at the highest level, that there is an understanding of the particular circumstances of the industry. This may involve more meetings. This committee is valued and a very valuable part of that process.

As I have explained in other fora, as a relatively small sector of the food industry, we have to elbow our way to the front and make sure our particular concerns have been understood at that level. We must then elbow our way into the consciousness at the level of the Department of the Taoiseach, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and the people who will be engaging in the negotiations in Brussels with the objective of ensuring our position will become part of the position the European Union will take in its negotiations with Britain.

There is a worrying degree of political and industrial ambition in the seafood and fisheries sector in terms of Brexit. It is almost seen as a litmus test of the value, or otherwise, of Brexit to the United Kingdom. Those concerned are likely to ascribe disproportionate significance to the outcome in fisheries in a situation that I firmly believe will be bad for them in general. It is critical that the Government and the European Union fully understand our position in the light of the level of ambition shown.