Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

At the outset, I compliment and acknowledge the great work of Deputy Pat The Cope Gallagher, not only with regard to this motion, but over the years when he has always been to the forefront of this and related issues. My job today is to speak up for small fishermen who have been blackguarded not just by this Government, but by successive Governments over the years. When I think of fishermen, I am thinking of the people I was elected to represent. They are in Dingle today. They are fishing out of Tahilla Cove in Sneem. They are in Castletownbere. They are people I speak to on a daily basis in Cromane, dealing with the trouble they have in trying to make a living.

At the end of the day all everybody is looking for is a thing called fair play. Unfortunately, over the years, small fishermen have been blackguarded. They have been let down, not just by the Minister, but by his predecessors of all political persuasions. There is nothing wrong with a small fisherman trying to make a living. Indeed, they are treated like criminals. I see what happens in the dead of night when these people are out at sea. They are just doing their work in bad weather and all types of weather. Their vessels are boarded and they are treated like criminals. Again, that is wrong. At the end of the day, they are Irish people, Irish fishermen trying to make a living.

Europe has dictated to us for long enough. We sold out an awful lot when we gave away an awful lot of our territorial waters. I have seen this first hand and I have raised it over the last several weeks. I have dealt with the Minister and his office with regard to particular details. I want to thank him for the work he has done on many of the problems concerning fishermen about which I have approached him personally. It would be unfair of me not to acknowledge that and I do so. I am thankful for the Minister's help.

However, he knows that what I am trying to highlight is the inadequacies in the system, whether they affect the fishermen at sea or the small people working with pots who are trying to make a living and who are being blackguarded, not just on a weekly basis but on a daily basis. They should be treated in the same way as the small farmer, in that they should be allowed to make their living. I call on the Minister at this late hour. Anytime he makes a decision such as this order concerning penalty points, I ask him always to remember that there are small fishermen out there who want to pass on their tradition. They want their business, which is a small business, to continue with family members. Unless they get assistance from the Minister, his Department and future Governments, they will not be able to survive.

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