Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I made it clear in my first response that we fought tooth and nail as a nation to ensure that there would be no loss of fish. That was what we were looking for. The British Government's approach was to take back 100% of all fish caught. Throughout the negotiation, our approach was to hold tight and not give anything up. Unfortunately at the end, in order for a deal to happen, there was this outcome. It was not at the scale of a no-deal scenario, where our fisheries would have lost access to where we catch one third of our fish, in British waters, and it would have caused significant damage to the rest of our economy too. Our clear position all along was to hold the strongest position and line possible. It ultimately resulted in fish being the last item to be agreed on and the deal ultimately hinged on it because of the resolute approach we took to it.

See this speech in context