Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

This issue has arisen due to a recent High Court ruling overturning a 2019 fishing directive that excluded trawling by vessels over 18 m from waters inside the 6 nautical miles zone. I want to ask the Minister the status of the actions he is taking as a result of the High Court ruling that overturned that policy directive and if an external review of the consultation process which was found to be in breach of fair procedures will be conducted.

This ruling was overturned on a technical issue. It has been depicted as a good thing for the entire fishing industry. However, that is not true. The reality is that the vast majority of people working in the sector regard this ruling being overturned as being worse than Brexit. This directive would have helped to replenish stocks for small-scale and sustainable fishing families, which is the kind of fishing we should all support. One of the reasons their voices have not been heard is because they do not have the same amount of representation, which is desperately needed. The National Inshore Fishermen’s Association, NIFA, and the National Inshore Fishermen’s Organisation, NIFO, have applied for producer organisation status. Can the Minister give us an update on the status in respect of becoming a producer organisation and whether it is possible to speed up the process?

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