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

Last week in the Dáil, I asked the Taoiseach to be a Taoiseach for our farming community, whether they be beef or lamb producers, as people who are struggling in trying to make a living for themselves and better themselves and their families. This week, I will highlight conflicting regulations in the European Union and Ireland that are detrimental to the position of Irish fishermen. I specifically refer to fishermen working in hard conditions, perhaps with a small boat, and giving a bit of employment to themselves, a family member and a few friends in the locality.

People with a quota of 119 tonnes have seen that limit decreased to 24 tonnes. People with a bigger boat and a quota of 310 tonnes have seen that limit decreased to 70 tonnes. One can imagine the impact this will have on people who might have to go as far away as Scotland or down to Spain in trying to get a catch. They work in very tough conditions, with a high cost for fuel, but they have seen their tonnage reduced dramatically. It is the difference between being able to stay in business and not. It is not as if these people were making much money. As the Taoiseach knows, these boats are very expensive and the fishermen must pay good wages, as well as all the other expenses involved. We must also factor in the amount of time in which they cannot fish because of bad weather but they cannot claim any kind of assistance. They do not want assistance but they want to catch and sell fish in order to make a week's pay. It is all they want but, unfortunately, many of these fishermen are being put out of business.

In December 2017, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine introduced pilot quota balancing, which would come into effect on 1 January 2018.

This scheme introduced penalties for fishermen if they brought in fish in excess of their allocated quota. Not only would the excess be deducted from their quota but a multiplying factor would be used to penalise them even further. Under EU regulations, no disregarding is allowed, but under the new quota balancing introduced, the only way to land the exact quota allocated is to disregard the excess fish at sea. Fishermen agree that to preserve fish stocks, measures need to be taken and quota balancing is necessary, but the scheme needs to be amended. I remind the Taoiseach, as I did last week, that he is Taoiseach not just for Dublin county or city but for every part of this country, including our farming and fishing communities. These sectors work so hard, as do people in all other sectors of life, but people in fishing and farming are trying to create employment for themselves and this will definitely put many of them out of business. I would like the Taoiseach to address the very tough times they face.

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