Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)

Pat "The Cope" Gallagher is on a twin-track approach with me. We are both trying to increase the pressure. Sometimes we need to rattle cages to get things done. If we do not do what we are now doing, in two years people will be screaming and roaring because a mackerel quota will have been halved for Ireland. This quota is worth at the quayside, or in terms of landed fish, approximately €106 million per year to the industry. We must act now to try to force a resolution on the issue in order that we can progress with positive issues with Iceland, including accession to the European Union, which I hope can progress apace when we deal with the mackerel issue.

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