Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

One of the first meetings I had this year was with representative bodies of the fishing industry and the fishing co-operatives. We always knew Brexit was going to have a negative impact on our fishing industry, principally because of the high percentages, particularly of the pelagic stock, being fished in British waters and we were particularly concerned about our mackerel and prawn stocks and others. We have mitigated what could have been a far worse impact and because of our close proximity to the UK and the fact we fish so much in British waters, the impact has been more negative for us. The challenge now is to see if we can ameliorate that but also, more importantly, if can we do everything we possibly can to support the fishing industry and those involved in the fishing sector from primary right through the entire production sector, as well as the communities the fishing industry serves, in terms of economic developments and supports.

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