Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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I know the Deputy has a significant interest based on where he comes from and the people he knows best. I was in Killybegs last Sunday to meet those who are most impacted and to hear at first hand their thoughts and ideas. I share the Deputy’s assessment of the way in which the European Union has attempted to balance its responsibilities and opportunities in relation to fishing. Perhaps for geopolitical reasons, enough pressure has not been put on those third countries in negotiations. There has been a trade-off, unfortunately, that has allowed this to happen. From a conservation perspective, a climate change perspective and a biodiversity perspective, it is unacceptable on all of those fronts, regardless of the geopolitical stance. I have made it very clear with our team here and in Brussels that it cannot be business as usual, and there is not necessarily a difficulty in doing that. At every opportunity, we have to challenge the approaches that were taken, even where it does not relate directly to mackerel. We have to act, insofar as we can, to disrupt what has happened.

When I say that, it is raising a red flag with the Commission and other member states. I am also mindful that in doing this, it is not a slam-dunk because we do not have a veto. I have to try to build alliances, which I have been doing. There are some stocks that are more relevant and important to other states. My attitude is to be a disruptor there, insofar as I can, and to say that what is good for the goose is good for the gander. If we have an issue here, we need their support, but to get our support in relation to a matter of concern to them, they will have to work with us. It is about trying to ruffle the feathers.

The opportunity to do that is enhanced because of the size and scale of the shock that we now have. That is coming on the back of a 20% cut in mackerel last year, which the Deputy identified, and a 26% loss of quota as a result of the continued TCA. I take the Deputy’s point in regard to the extension of the TCA, although I do not fully share his assessment. The difficulty I had with it at the time was that guaranteed access for a period of time was also of benefit to the fishing sector. Some had hoped that some of that might have been clawed back, but that was never on the agenda and never possible. We were not going to be able to achieve that. The longevity of it was the best we could achieve.

On the financial package, there are a number of ways that we have to look at this. For example, given the scale of the shock, the question is what we can get back for ourselves at the December Council. The deployment of the Hague preferences will be very challenging.

It has been made clear to me by a multiplicity of member states that they are going to push back heavily against that. I have to battle that. To go back Senator O'Reilly's point, that is small in terms of what is involved but it is an important one for the sector.

I have already raised the issue with the Commissioner, and I will be meeting him next week in Luxembourg. I made it very clear that I want the Commission to think outside the box in the context of how we might address this. It is not just about setting aside some of the terms and conditions of the EMFAF that would allow us to spend our money here. I have also spoken to the Taoiseach about it. Senator Boyle has been in discussions with the Tánaiste on it. The Tánaiste and I are going to get together on this and with the Minister, Deputy Burke, and the Ministers for Finance and public expenditure. We will be looking at the scale of the problem, the impact on employment and on the revenues that are generated and the downstream impact on not just the processing industry but also on the support industries. I do not need to tell Deputy Mac Lochlainn about Killybegs and the extent to which the entirety of the commercial activity there hangs on the back of the pelagic sector.