Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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Mr. O'Donnell makes a point about attributing advantage to the island fisherman. Yes, we want to give an advantage to the island fisherman. That is what we want to do. It is the essence of what we are doing. It is not designed to disadvantage others who live on the shoreline in any way. It was argued that if a person had access to fishing opportunities on the island, it could somehow run into unforeseen problems down the line. In other words, they would somehow be prevented from receiving quota in the normal circumstances. That is not the intention of the Bill. The Bill does not intend to do that. Everyone who would have access to the heritage fishing licence would already have to have a licence to fish. They probably would not have quota, and they would seek the heritage licence in order to gain quota. That is really what this is about.

It was said that giving an advantage to one somehow disadvantages the other. We all recognise and it is internationally recognised, even within the Common Fisheries Policy, that people who live on islands are already at a disadvantage. Giving them a particular advantage is about trying to restore some form of equity around their opportunity to create economic viability for themselves and their families to continue living on the islands. That is what we want to do. I absolutely believe that the members of the organisations present would understand that. Many of them live on islands. Moreover, I am sure that the members who live on the mainland would not begrudge those living on the islands that small opportunity. I do not think they would, nor should they.

Mr. Boyle referred to the south and the east and the ring fencing of quota. One could call it ring fencing, if that is the term one wanted to use and that is what we want to do. We want to give an advantage to the people who live on the island because their very existence on an offshore island is a disadvantage that needs to be addressed. That is what we want to do and we make no apology for wanting to do that. Again, the same point is to be made. I do not believe that those in the inshore sector who live on the mainland would begrudge that small advantage being given to people who are already living in disadvantaged circumstances. I do not think that the idea that it somehow creates an uneven playing field is a fair criticism of the Bill. I do not think it creates an uneven playing field. It attempts to level the playing field for those who are at a disadvantage already.

I absolutely take the point about the baseline and where it runs. There is an argument to be made around the idea that everything landward of the baseline running around the various headlands around the island of Ireland is not EU waters.