John Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am sure the Minister is aware of the importance of the fishing industry to coastal communities, involving more than 12,000 jobs and more than 2,000 fishing vessels. The Minister referred to support for the CFP in the European Parliament but there does not seem to be the same level of support among the Irish fisheries organisations. I have had representations from Kilmore Quay to Castletownbere to Killybegs, all outlining the serious concerns of fishermen. Fishermen also feel they were excluded from many of the negotiations before they were finalised at European level. Will the Minister comment on that?

Does the Minister accept that the discard compromise is unworkable from an Irish whitefish point of view given the mixed nature of the fisheries in which the vast majority of whitefish vessels operate? Fishermen have expressed serious concern to me in this regard. They also feel that the Minister should seek to have the Hague preferences included because they believe that at some stage in the future - I know the situation as I attended negotiations on previous occasions and we always managed to get them included - the present arrangement might not be sufficient and we might not always win the war. They believe it is important that the Hague preferences be included in the new CFP.

See this speech in context