Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I raised the threats to our fishing sector from Brexit with the Minister of State in previous debates. There is growing concern and alarm in our fishing communities at the news that Michel Barnier is offering 15% to 18% of a reduction in value in terms of access to what are deemed to be British waters. Under the Common Fisheries Policy our territorial waters and British territorial waters outside the 12-mile limit are divided for all member states of the European Union, based on a total allowable catch quota system. That offer was rejected, and there was serious concern about the offer.

It is time for us to state clearly to our European Union counterparts that what is emerging here, whether it is Britain accepting the 18% offer or much worse, requires a renegotiation of the Common Fisheries Policy. There is major concern. Approximately 400 European vessels that fish in British territorial waters are affected by this. They need a home to go to. An important statistic is that 34% of the entire catch taken by the Irish fleet is caught in what the UK terms British territorial waters. That is the serious level of threat we face. It is existential for a number of ports and long-standing fishing communities.

We must be straight with our European Union counterparts that this will require an urgent renegotiation of the Common Fisheries Policy. The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine appeared before the Joint Committee on Agriculture and the Marine yesterday and gave a presentation. His senior officials would have assisted with drafting it. The presentation was clear that the annual negotiations that take place in December on the total allowable catch and sustainable fisheries are up in the air due to Brexit, so we must be ready to renegotiate the Common Fisheries Policy. We must urgently protect the national interest and the interests of our fishing communities. There is massive anger already that we have given away so much of the immense resource in our waters. That has been sacrificed and we cannot allow any more to be given.

There can be no further erosion of our waters and we must regain what we will have lost in these negotiations through increased quotas in our waters. The message I wish to convey urgently to the Minister of State and the Government before these negotiations is that they must defend the national interest and our fishing communities and make it absolutely clear that we are not pawns in this game or pieces to be offered up in negotiations. We must not come out of this by destroying our fishing communities.

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