Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I suggest that the Taoiseach prioritise a visit to Edinburgh and that he very speedily ramp up the conversation with the Scottish Government and the First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, in particular. The stance adopted by the Scottish Government on fishing and fishing rights around Rockall is, frankly, bewildering. Scotland wishes to remain within the European Union, and that position has been well articulated and mandated democratically. Scotland is part of the Common Fisheries Policy, CFP, and therefore I cannot understand, in either diplomatic or economic terms, the stance taken by the Scottish Government. This matter requires immediate and high-level attention because, as others have said, the matter of Brexit now looms and the prospect of a hard Brexit looms ever greater with the prospect of a hard Brexiteer Prime Minister in 10 Downing Street. This scenario threatens the livelihoods of fishing families directly in the here and now, raises the hackles, and raises real concerns as to what Brexit might look like and how it might play out. Scotland is considered an ally on the matter of Brexit, and both fishing communities and people beyond them are saying that if this is the stance adopted by an ally, heaven help us if we are to consider a stance that might be adopted by those who are not an ally of Ireland. Will the Taoiseach, in the course of his response, set out his contact to date with the First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, and if he intends to go directly to Edinburgh to raise, and I hope resolve, this issue with her directly?

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