Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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An eight-point plan has been brought forward. I commend the Seafood Ireland Alliance, our fishing organisations and the producer organisations on working together as one voice. They have been doing that for a number of years in uniting together and speaking directly to the European Commission. There is an eight-point plan. In his submission Mr. Lynch said that we are going to have to see financial supports similar to the Brexit supports because clearly, as Mr. Murphy said, it is four times worse. People need to get their heads around that. Brexit was a disaster for our fishing industry but this is four times worse. I have been the fisheries spokesperson for Sinn Féin in opposition for about five years and the last few weeks have been absolutely heartbreaking. The witnesses and their organisations have warned about this. The sector has warned about this. This is our industry playing by the rules but being absolutely pummelled again and again. Obviously, we will engage with the Minister of State next. There needs to be a complete gear change in the approach. Legal challenges and everything have to be on the table in terms what has led to this.

I am reticent to talk about the financial supports, and the witnesses all know why. Fishermen want to fish. This is what I always hear. When I talk to small inshore fishermen and island fishermen about supports similar to the single farm payments that farmers get, the fishers are always reluctant. They say they just want to fish. Right now, however, we have to be realistic. The first priority for me is to stop the overfishing and to stop it immediately. This will give the mackerel stock a chance to recover. This has to happen immediately and it is not negotiable. There will have to be financial supports in tandem. Could we maybe talk about this? I want to be clear for any fishermen that this is not us waving the flag with regard to taking financial payments. The first thing to do is deal with the overfishing and to stop it. The second thing is that we do need to renegotiate the Common Fisheries Policy. We have to look at relative stability. Relative stability is absolutely failing us. The British did not look at relative stability when they negotiated Brexit. It was zonal attachment for the British when they were dealing with Brexit. This policy is in tatters and it makes no sense. Nobody can stand over it. It has no moral standing anymore. I want every fisherman listening to understand that we are not parking that. This is first and foremost. We do, however, need financial supports. We do need to save jobs. Mr. Rihan talked about the type of people we need to keep in play. Can we just start to talk about the type of financial supports that will be required if we achieve a stop to the overfishing and all the other matters that we need to negotiate? This question is to whoever wants to take it first.