Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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We need to work together to find a solution to this. In the case of the BAR funding that was provided for producers, there were two schemes and under the capital one, €30 million was spent out of a possible €45 million. Under the transition scheme, it was recommended that €12 million would be sought but Ireland applied for €7 million. We could go back and forth on this, but to be constructive, we need to work together. Again, with full respect, the SFPA will speak for itself but it is well versed on the concerns. As a public representative, all I would ask is that we would have a consistent approach, with no incentive to go to another harbour and with a common-sense way of doing the very important job of policing that the SFPA has.

That is the first factor, and the second one relates to how we can get more raw product into Ireland. Deputy Collins has touched on this. The Minister, Deputy McConalogue, has appeared before this committee and expressed serious concern about the reckless behaviour of not just Norway but also Iceland and the Faroe Islands in respect of mackerel. Mackerel is a migratory species. It spawns off the coast of Ireland and works its way through the territorial waters of Britain into those waters in and around Norway, the Faroe Islands and Iceland. The practice in which those fishers have engaged is utterly reckless. They ignored the ICES direction and paid no price for it. The Norwegians get a massive share of the blue whiting in our waters under the deal they have with the European Union, way beyond what Ireland has. It is remarkable that our country gets a fraction of the blue whiting that Norway gets. They paid no price for their reckless behaviour, and everybody in the industry warned that we were going to see a decline in this species. This is a precious resource for our people and this was allowed to happen.

I appreciate that the Minister can speak in negotiations, but we have to ask what on earth is going on. The suspicion is that some member states of the European Union have major corporations with a financial interest in the companies that have been reckless, especially in Iceland and the Faroe Islands. The belief is that they have a huge influence on the Common Fisheries Policy and strategy at European Union level and this was not dealt with. The credibility of the Common Fisheries Policy is in tatters given the reckless behaviour of these countries. I agree with following the science. Sometimes fishermen will dispute the science and question the methodology, which is right and proper and fair, but ultimately, we have to have ground rules. We have precious resources here. They were moving through various waters and the behaviour was reckless. Now, the proof is in the pudding and the quota is going to be reduced. In the context of pelagic, that means we now have the double hit of Brexit and this reckless behaviour.

I will not ask Ms McSherry to comment on this because that would be unfair, but I will say out loud that I believe that the Common Fisheries Policy has no credibility as it applies to species such as mackerel and blue whiting off the coast of Ireland working their way up into other waters. I will just leave it as a statement that our Government and our country have to do more to speak out about the absolute hypocrisy and double standards at play here. It would be unfair to draw Ms McSherry into my commentary, so I will just leave it as stated.

On the issue of Ireland's reputation in the European Union, there is a view that we need to have a permanent base, and I am going to propose in our party's election manifesto that we would have a dedicated office in the European Parliament called "Fish Ireland". It would be a partnership of our seafood industry and our Department to go out and have two objectives, namely, to promote the sale of Irish food exports in fish and seafood and to fight for our fair share and speak truth to power. What happened with the Norwegians, the Faroese and the Icelanders and the financial control of some of that sector, particularly the new sector in those countries, by existing multinationals within the European Union leaves me suspicious. Were they acting in the interests of others? It was little Ireland, with the richest fishing waters, that suffered the most. What are Ms McSherry's views on having an office in the European Union, called "Fish Ireland", with a dedicated resource, working in partnership with the industry?