Margaret Murphy O'Mahony (Cork South West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I would like to begin by noting that I feel very blessed to represent a constituency that has islands. Everything should be done to enhance island living. The Common Fisheries Policy provides for small offshore islands which are dependent on fishing and efforts should be made to enable them to survive. The idea of heritage licences is set out in the Oireachtas report, a report which was endorsed by an all-party Oireachtas committee in 2014.

As stated by my colleagues, Fianna Fáil supports the main principles of this Bill and its passage on Second Stage. Island fishermen live and work in a harsh and unpredictable environment. Therefore, this Bill is all about fairness. Aside from this, the fishing sector is an essential part of the Irish economy, with Bord Bia advising that seafood exports amounted to €645 million in 2017. This is particularly relevant in light of Brexit. A hard Brexit would be detrimental to the fishing industry in Ireland. The Government needs to prioritise this and take a firm stance in regard to future trade links.

Recommendation 10 of the report calls for the Government to examine the feasibility of the issuance of heritage licences to rural, coastal and island communities.

Such licences would essentially facilitate traditional fishing practices in conjunction with the establishment of a producer organisation representing vessels under a certain length in designated areas.

I am speaking from the perspective of islands in West Cork where traditional fishing practices are, unfortunately, being eradicated. Once this unique and beautiful tradition, which is synonymous with Irish culture, fades out, it will be lost forever. In that regard, there is an urgent need to attract younger people into the fishing sector, but the future is far from certain. Specifically, I refer to Sherkin Island in my constituency. I am advised that nobody is working in the fishing industry on the island. The last remaining fisherman, a young person incidentally, decided there was no future in fishing, or in island living, and he left the island in the past few months to live on the mainland. Islanders on Sherkin, Cape Clear and Bere Island advise that no assistance is made available to them and even if they decide to stay on the island they are impeded by over-regulation. It is simply too hard to live off the ever decreasing remuneration derived from fishing.

The industry needs to be attractive but, more important, it needs to be viable. The West Cork Islands Interagency Group believes that the viability of the fishing sector will assist them in their objective to increase the population of our islands. Heritage licences are a lifeline to the fisheries sector. Strict regulations, which would limit the issuing of licences, would guarantee that those most deserving and in most need would receive same - essentially, those habitually resident on the island and those with vessels no longer than 12 m. This measure will ensure that small inshore fishing will survive and prosper. The Fianna Fáil policy paper seeks to build on the success of the Wild Atlantic Way by creating an “Irish Way”. Any progress needs to ensure that all sectors prosper and none is left languishing behind, which is currently the case, unfortunately, with the fishing sector.

I reiterate that the Government must make fisheries a top priority. The introduction of heritage licences would demonstrate the Government's commitment to this industry and in that regard I call on the Ministers of State and the Government to act accordingly.

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