Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I agree with much of what has been said. This is an industry that has been under pressure for many years. It is a very difficult industry for anyone who is working in it. It is dependent on weather and catches. What worries me with regard to what is being proposed with weighing is that Irish boats will suffer most. We will not be able to control the foreign boats. We can say what we like but we were not able to do it with fishing and we will not be able to do it with weighing. It will put further pressure on the industry here. I have to be careful in terms of what I say because I am not within the precincts of the Dáil. There seems to be something not right in the industry. Something needs to be done.

I have been a Member of the Dáil for some time and the one thing I have never liked or wanted was for these agencies to be given this kind of power. At the end of the day, the Minister and I have been elected to the Oireachtas and have responsibility to the people, not the State agencies. When this trouble erupts, it will not be the SFPA that will deal with it; it will be the Minister and Oireachtas Members as politicians. I know the committee met on Tuesday. I wanted to attend but I could not do so because the computer I had in Dublin broke down. I am now using my computer in my office here in Westport. I wanted to speak at that meeting. I hope we can bring the SFPA in again because giving power to faceless groups is not good. The Minister is going to have to step in and try to do something for these fishermen.

As regards Europe, I know I will get a bit of stick for stating it has too much power and does not really care about our fishing industry. It has sold the industry down the drain on many occasions. The Minister should take a strong hand with Europe. These fishermen are going through enough and I do not think there is any real reason this should be brought in. It seems to be something that was created by people who think they do not have enough power and should have more power and should have total control over fishermen. I do not like it or what is going on.

I am fully supportive of the fishermen. There is great anger out there. They are very upset and they are in a very difficult industry. It has always been difficult. We have great sympathy for them when people are tragically lost at sea and everybody sees how difficult the job and the life is. Now is the time they need support and we should be there to give them that support. If there is anything that can be done at European level, it should be done. We should not allow this weighing system to come in. None of our fishermen has broken the law, from what I have heard.

If they have, they should be prosecuted. If they are not prosecuted, they have done nothing wrong.