Martin Ferris (Kerry North-West Limerick, Sinn Fein)

It is only right and proper to welcome what has happened in the past 24 hours and acknowledge the role of the Minister, on which I commend him. I understand from Conor Heaney, who works in the office of the Northern Ireland Minister, Michelle O'Neill, that an all-Ireland approach was taken during the negotiations on this. That is a welcome development. During any negotiations, it is essential for interested parties to work together for the common good. In this case, the Ministers were working together for the good of Irish fishermen.

The fisheries deal that was reached in advance of this country's accession to the then EEC was a disaster for Irish fisheries. Forty years on, the Government must focus on getting a fair deal for Irish fisheries. The main problem faced by the Irish fishing sector is that the management of the industry is almost exclusively in the hands of the EU and is bound by the Common Fisheries Policy. This policy is the successor of the fishery policy that was framed by the original six members of the EEC prior to the accession of Ireland, Britain and Denmark. The countries in question drew it up with a view to securing a share in a massive resource in which they were deficient. The Irish fleet was given a small share in the catch in waters off our coast, reflecting the lack of domestic development in the years prior to accession. Since then, the outworking of the EU stock management policy has had a dramatic impact on Irish fishermen. The Irish fishing fleet has been reduced by a third since 1993. It is clear that the intention is to accelerate the rate of decommissioning. Until now, Irish officials have accepted that there is a clear intent to reduce the fleet to one that operates from two or three large ports. Such a change would be of huge concern.

In 2002, the Common Fisheries Policy review group highlighted the inequalities and injustices of the Common Fisheries Policy as it existed at that time. It was pointed out that despite Ireland accounting for 11% of EU fishing waters at that time, Irish fishermen had only just 4% of the EU quota. The group particularly emphasised the importance of fishing to the west of Ireland. It said there was a need to break out of the straightjacket of a policy that was inhibiting the development of the fishing sector. Despite occasional public criticism of the Common Fisheries Policy, the official response to requests that it be radically reformed to address the issue of unequal quota allocation has invariably been that the mechanism for determining quota is historically based and more or less set in stone, in line with the so-called "relative stability" policy.

Estimates of the value of the fish taken from Irish waters by non-Irish vessels since 1973 vary. Some sources have placed the figure at €16 billion while others, using EUROSTAT figures for the amount of fish taken from Irish waters and their potential value including processed value, have placed the figure as high as €200 billion. No one who is involved in Irish fishing appears to be prepared to defend the Common Fisheries Policy. Many proposals have been made for it to be radically overhauled, particularly with regard to the allocation of quota, which disadvantages the Irish fleet significantly on the basis of the historical allocations that were made in previous years. There is a general recognition at Irish level and in Brussels of the need to acknowledge the historical disadvantage that has been imposed by EU policy since 1973. It is accepted that the Irish Government should take primary responsibility for the future management of the Irish fishing industry.

The current talks on the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy were completed last night. I welcome the agreement that was reached by the member states involved to allow for greater regionalisation. It is imperative for local knowledge of the fishing industry to be used to create a more progressive policy. This can only be done if the red tape and bureaucracy that surrounds the approach of Brussels to the Common Fisheries Policy is replaced by greater regionalisation. The Irish fishing industry has been done a great disservice since Ireland's accession to the EEC. I hope this move will be a step on the road to rectifying the current problem. The Irish fishing industry has been micro-managed for too long. This is an opportunity to give fishermen some form of democratic control over their future.

The ban on the discarding of fish is also to be welcomed. EU rules mean that more than 1 million tonnes of fish are discarded into the sea every year. These fish account for up to 90% of catches in some fisheries. This action is utter madness. A ban on the practice was long overdue. The practice of discarding healthy fish into the sea illustrates how out of touch the Brussels bureaucracy was with the Irish fishing industry and the industry throughout Europe. It was beyond ridiculous for healthy fish to be discarded due to EU rules at a time when Irish fishermen were coming under severe pressure from Europe due to low fish stocks. We are waiting for a final deal to be passed by the European Parliament. The ban on this practice must be welcomed. It is important for the ban to be introduced correctly and in a way that allows fishermen to change the practices they have been forced into under European rules. Fishermen have often been portrayed in an extremely negative fashion because their practices have been seen to destroy fish stocks. I suggest that poor management from Brussels was the main contributing factor to these stocks being damaged.

Other issues must be addressed. Increased access to our waters by EU states has led to serious problems within the Irish fishing industry. Irish fishermen have borne the brunt of these problems. This must be rectified. There is a strong belief among fishermen that illegal fishing by non-Irish boats is underestimated. On that basis, there are proposals that fisheries control and surveillance should be related to quota so that vessels from bigger fleets can be given proportionate attention. At present, the protection agencies pay Irish vessels a disproportionate level of attention. It is unwarranted when one considers the share of the quota in Irish waters enjoyed by the Irish fleet. These and other issues must be addressed if we want a fair deal for Irish fishermen.

The Council and the Commission accept that we will need to introduce additional quotas to meet the additional landings that will arise from this new policy. The big problem for the Irish fishing industry has been the lack of quota. That has to be addressed in a fair way that reflects the substantial waters we have under our control and the terrible mistakes of the past. The lack of quota has contributed significantly to the massive decline in the fishing sector across our coast. As representatives of coastal communities, Deputies Harrington and McHugh are well aware, as we are in the south west, of how depleted the whole sector has been in the last 30 years as a result of the lack of quota, lack of viable income and lack of political attention. During his short period in office to date, the Minister, Deputy Coveney, appears to have given this sector his attention in a much better way than his predecessors in my lifetime. I welcome that and commend him on it.

I wish to speak about the general approach to the mandatory proposals on the privatisation of national fishing quota. I think everyone in this House has been absolutely opposed to privatisation in this sector. We have worked together collectively to oppose it. It is good that the Minister has won support for our position among other EU countries. I fully agree that the privatisation of fishing would be absolutely detrimental to the industry. It would wreck whatever is left of the industry and the fishing communities. All of us are singing from the same hymn sheet on the issue of decision-making on a regional basis. That is to be commended.

The Minister and his officials did a good night's work, or a good 20 hours' work. I am quite confident that the industry and its representatives are reasonably happy with the outcome. We did not get everything we want, but we took a step in the right direction. The position the Minister took on the question of discards, and the lead-in to the whole thing, was consistent with the position taken by my colleague in the Six Counties. The success they achieved in that regard shows what can be done. A small step has been taken as part of the effort to save what is left of our industry.

The Government's position regarding aquaculture etc. enjoys almost unanimous support in this House. If we focus on aquaculture and on natural fisheries, perhaps we can reverse the trend that has existed over the years and give hope to rural fishing communities. If we can make such communities viable, we can help to sustain the society that exists in such places and help to rebuild this depleted and depressed sector of our economy.

Again, go raibh maith agat. Fair play to the Minister. He has full support from me and my party.

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