Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I accept that the Minister is out of the country but on his return he should immediately convene a meeting of all of the Opposition spokespersons because we are in this together. We want to be helpful and to fight this with a united front. I am extremely worried following the Taoiseach's scripted response today. Reading from his script he said that things will change following Brexit. He also said - listen to this - "One thing that is often not fully appreciated is that Irish fishermen take a lot of fish [35% of all the fish we take] out of UK waters." What about all of those who take fish out of Irish waters? This is a form of defeatism from the Taoiseach. He and his Ministers should strengthen their resolve. We want to continue fishing those waters as we always have, even after Brexit. We cannot accept the ceding of our rights to the UK. This is not only about Rockall but about fishing in UK waters post Brexit.

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