Mr. Brendan Byrne:

Can the Deputy or I say comprehensively that Ireland has been robust at the heart of Europe for the past 20 years? Have we put the issues to the heart of Europe? I would sincerely say that we have not, that we have been weak in Europe and that we are paying the price. We have 12% of the waters. The industries of every other member state that fishes around the waters of Ireland are benefiting. The Irish processing industry has been on a downward trajectory since 2017. The processing industries of the other member states that are fishing west or south of Ireland are on an upward trajectory. We have been weak. When I first took this job four and a half years ago, the greatest weakness I saw was our own domestic policies in terms of fishing. We need to address that before we go to Europe. We need to address how robust our fishery policies have been from a catching perspective or from a processing perspective. I think we have been extremely weak in Europe, and that is why Europe is weak when it comes to defending us.