Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I share the view that the Irish fishing industry needs to be prioritised, because like in farming, many of the decisions we make as politicians, whether in Brussels or in Dublin, impact directly on the livelihoods and the opportunities for fishermen in terms of the stocks they catch and the trade deals done that allow us to export and sell that catch profitably. The connection between political decision-making and the future of the fishing industry is hugely important. That is why fishing has taken on a hugely important part of the Brexit negotiations.

The Deputy may have noticed that in the most recent decisions before the end of last year, on finalising the text of a withdrawal agreement in the context of the backstop about which people talk so much and the single customs territory which allows UK products to be potentially sold into the EU Single Market tariff-free, it was fishing, fish products and fish that were the exception there. The EU was making it very clear that until there is a comprehensive future trade agreement, including on fish, we are not willing to give any concessions at all, even relatively low-level tariff concessions to fish caught in British waters being sold into EU markets, which by the way is about 70% of fish caught in EU waters. We have work to do here but I can assure fishermen very directly that they are a big priority in the context of our Brexit negotiation approach.

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