Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Morale among Irish fishermen is at an all-time low. These hardworking men across the country have given blood, sweat and tears to their profession and have seen their every right eroded by successive Governments year after year, decade after decade. Fishermen have no faith in the political system. They feel strongly that there is no concession to be made in any negotiations with Europe and that their rights in the Irish Sea are being given away bit by bit.

A number of serious concerns have been simply overlooked by the Government. Yesterday, an Irish trawler was chased out of Irish waters by a Spanish vessel. I saw evidence of this because the incident was filmed. Last night, when I asked fishermen whether it had been reported, I was told it was a regular occurrence and that they worry that if they report anything, it is they who will be prosecuted rather than the foreign vessels which bully them with their huge trawlers.

Similarly, a couple of weeks ago I received a call from inshore fishermen of Castletownbere pleading for a cull of seals as the large number of them is causing chaos for inshore fishermen. Will a cull happen? I am afraid not.

Approximately six weeks ago I raised the question of why Irish fishermen have no bluefin tuna quota when there has been an explosion in the number of these fish in Irish waters. Other European countries - France, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Greece, Malta and Cyprus - have applied and been granted quotas but Irish fishermen have none.

Last year, I raised the considerable losses of equipment many fishermen have experienced due to the severe storms along the shoreline at locations such as Schull, Castletownbere and Union Hall, and the need to set up a compensation package for them. However, my call fell on deaf ears. Another significant problem for inshore fishermen from west Cork and Kerry is that the only fishing they can do in bad weather is for scallops, which entails towing a small metal dredge with a net attached along the seabed. In bad weather, the equipment can simply be brought home every evening.

The fishing side of this job is the easy bit. The selling side is the problem as the scallop need to be tested for biotoxins once a week. No one sees the need to test them once a week. I find this extreme. Surely once a month would be more than enough. However, the nightmare for the fisherman does not end there as he is only allowed to fish 12 to 15 scallops. He must put scallops in a polystyrene box and send them by post to the Marine Institute in County Galway to get them tested. This is not only expensive but it is absolutely ridiculous. Whoever heard of posting fish to County Galway? If the d’Unbelievables did a sketch on it, we would say it was far-fetched. Would a person post meat to Galway and expect it to be fresh on arrival? The fisherman must then keep watch on a website to see if they pass the test. It could take one week before the fishermen can go back to sea. We must put proper facilities in place in Clonakilty so all this testing can take place in one day and fishermen can do the job they want to do which is to fish.

One month ago in Cork County Council chambers, my brother, Councillor Danny Collins, put forward a motion, which was fully supported by the councillors, that we need a stand-alone Minister for fisheries and the marine. Organisations like the Irish South and West Fish Producers Organisation cannot deal with the huge challenges fishermen face on their own. They need a Minister for fishermen with sole responsibility for fisheries.

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