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

I heard what the Minister had to say in the Seanad on the Sea-Fisheries (Amendment) Bill. I listened to it very clearly. One of the things he said is that politicians are scaremongering. Politicians are not scaremongering. It is our constitutional right to raise concerns that are out there. This Bill has lain in the Minister's Department for two years. Every speaker has been picking up on that.

I have been calling for a stand-alone Minister for the fisheries and I have been justified in my call because something as important as this which could have serious consequences for inshore fishermen and for fishermen in general is being rushed through the Dáil. The Rural Independent Group along with a few Independent colleagues and Labour called last week for an extension of time on this debate and I am disappointed that Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin refused to vote with us on that to allow us that time and voted with Fine Gael because we need time to discuss this. This cannot be rushed through and it should not be rushed through.

The island of Ireland has a coastline of 7,500 km. Fishing has always been important to coastal communities but extremely bad Government policies over the years have left fishing in ruins. An area known as the Irish Box was created in 1985. When Portugal and Spain joined the EU, both countries were banned from fishing inside it until 1986, at which point only a maximum of 40 boats were allowed to fish inside it. At that time, the Irish trawlers could catch an abundance of fish anywhere from the shoreline to ten miles offshore. It was almost unheard of in 1985 to fish out of sight of the land. Then Spain complained that it was discriminated against so the 200 mile zone that protected the Irish fishing grounds from overfishing was removed and they argued that a conservation area was all that was needed. What happened since then? The Spanish have raped our waters. Huge deepwater trawlers work 24/7 for 52 weeks of the year in Irish waters. The Irish trawlers are spending days before they can reach ground where they can make a viable living.

We are supposed to be in the EU. That would suggest to any right thinking person that the same rules would apply but that is not the case. Irish boats have to adhere to an extremely strict quota with electronic logbooks, the must give notice to the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority, SFPA, hours before they reach harbour so that they can be inspected on arrival, have their landings observed and sometimes wait after landing to make sure their logbook tallies with the weight. If there are any discrepancies, they face huge fines and confiscation of their catch, nets and gear at a huge cost but the Spanish fishermen can come into the pier and land their catch straight into an articulated truck without anybody from the SFPA to monitor it because it is powerless as the Spanish have a fleet quota. Nobody knows how much they are landing. Then there are Spanish trucks which we all know about in west Cork and they railroad right down through the roads through Glengarriff and Adrigole blowing cars left, right and centre. It is well known throughout west Cork and it is becoming a huge issue right down through Kealkill on their way to the ports so they can just railroad their way. This is an unbelievable situation to be allowed to carry on in 2019.

If we compare fishing off the Irish coast since 1985 it is barren in comparison. Ireland needs to reclaim the 200 mile exclusion zone immediately. It is already too late. It will take decades to recover but it needs to happen now. Castletownbere is more like a Spanish fishing port than an Irish port with so many Spanish boats landing fish caught in Irish waters.

Irish fishermen have lost their traditional right to fish for salmon since 2010. This was the worst thing ever to happen in coastal communities. It was meant to be reviewed after seven years and it is now 2019 and there has still been no review. It has been scientifically proven since that it was not the fishermen who were responsible for the decline. Our rivers are heavily polluted, the spawning beds are shaded by trees and our rivers are neglected but as usual, the easy target is the fishermen: ban them and their way of making a living and take away their traditional rights. The indigenous people are totally discriminated against. The fishermen have no voice. That is what they feel out there. Like the Native American, they are being pushed aside by bullies. Where was the EU when this was happening? Where is it now? Our rights are being violated. It is the basic right to feed their families and their survival is being taken away.

I refer to people such as Gerard Kelly, who is outside on his third day on hunger strike. Does the Minister have any humanity? I know he will say that there are certain restraints and he cannot talk about certain matters but God damn it he is standing outside there and he is lying there every night. It would not kill anybody to go out and talk to the person because he has a heart. He is only thinking of his livelihood and the livelihoods of his fellow fishermen. Surely to God it would not hurt anybody to go out and talk to him. The Minister said he would not do so after the Seanad debate on Tuesday and he is continuing in that stance. That man is still outside the Dáil. His family is sincerely worried, I am worried and I call on him to call this off because we will try to take up the fight in here if we will be listened to.

Since the mid 1990s, fishermen have lost their rights to fish for salmon and they have lost their right to fish for spurdogs because they are protected as a member of the shark species. They have lost their right to drift net for tuna and they have lost their right to fish for bass. Half of the white fish fleet has been decommissioned. Where does it end? Yet, our Government will not appoint a stand-alone Minister for fishing. The Minister is responsible for agriculture and that is where his full efforts and concentration should be. I ask the Minister and many fishermen would challenge him to come to any pier in Ireland and name ten different species of fish or fishing gear to explain how the gear works. It will not be until fishermen get a Minister who can do that and show he or she has a knowledge of the fishing industry that they can hope to be represented in a fair manner at any level.

If the Minister looks back to A Programme for a Partnership Government, there were one and a half pages in it set aside out of hundreds of pages. It just shows the little interest this Government has in fishermen. A Programme for a Partnership Government stated that: "This Government recognises that the greatest national resource that Ireland has is the sea that surrounds the island." However, this Government is already selling out our greatest national resource and is being supported in doing so by much of the so called Opposition in the Dáil.

The fishing industry has got a poor deal from successive Governments. The fishing industry got a poor deal when Ireland negotiated its entry into the EU. Much of our waters were given away. I mention the bluefin quota and I thank the Minister because in fairness he did listen to what I asked in my plea that the Irish Government would apply for a bluefin quota. That is the kind of fight we need going forward and I will be raising more issues on this point going forward because I have run out of time and my colleagues need to get in.

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