Mr. Brendan Gleeson:

In the context of Brexit, that was a negotiation between the European Union and the UK. The outcome was one that represented some kind of balance from the perspective of the European Union for Ireland against the burdens that Brexit might put on us. We were not directly involved in that discussion but we are involved annually in the negotiation of quota and we operate on the basis of a zero sum game. We negotiate the best deals we can, with the best interests of the Irish fishing sector in mind. We consult with the Irish fishing sector during those negotiations every year. They usually have a team in Brussels during the December Council and we brief them on what is going on. It is, however, a zero sum game. As we are talking about relative stability, broadly, the sum of the quota allocated to member states does not increase. To get more quota you have take quota from somebody else and you have 27 member states, albeit with a smaller number significantly interested in fisheries, but that is the reality. That is the world we live in.

Obviously, there are different kinds of support systems for fishing and farming. There is a Common Agricultural Policy for farming. There is a Common Fisheries Policy for fishing.

That involves a negotiation around quotas, but also a programme for fisheries whereby we fund capital investment in the fishing sector in coastal communities. In recent years, more than €200 million has been made available through the BAR funds for fishing in coastal communities against the background that fishing got a tough deal during Brexit, which it did.