Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent)
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I thank the Minister for being with us today. I have a number of questions for the Minister in relation to the crisis we have right now in fishing, with the weighing situation. Fishermen have contacted me from south-west Cork and from along the coastline, all the way to Donegal. Representatives of the Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority, SFPA, appeared before the committee on 20 April. I think they were either misleading us or they were mistaken because they said they were in consultation with the industry in relation to all issues. However, at 4 p.m. on 16 April 2021, there was no issue whatsoever in relation to the weighing of fish but by 5 p.m. there was a change in the weighing of fish, which has been detrimental to the inshore fishermen, to the pelagic fisherman. When was the Minister made aware of this?