David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Last week, as the Minister is aware, more than 60 vessels steamed up to Cork Harbour. Fishermen are very concerned about their livelihoods and the future of the industry. They handed a letter in to the Taoiseach with seven points of concern. I know a lot of these people. They are salt-of-the-sea people, as opposed to salt-of-the-earth people. They are decent, hard-working families who are concerned about the future. They are concerned about the Common Fisheries Policy, CFP. They say Ireland has not been allocated a fair share of fish quotas that reflect the contribution of our fishers across the European Union. They are also concerned about the Brexit trade and co-operation agreement, TCA, between the UK and the EU. They say it is unfair and unjust and penalised Ireland's fishing industry. They are worried about the penalty points system. We have had this debate back and forth on a few occasions. They maintain that it should only be applied to licence holders and skippers following a court conviction. They maintain the fact that there is no appeal mechanism for it is unfair.

They maintain the revoking of Ireland's fish landing and control plan by the European Commission is impacting on the reputation of the entire Irish fishing industry. They take issue with having to weigh the fish on the quay side, de-ice the fish and then re-ice it and bring it on from there. They say it is unsafe as there are no hazard analysis and critical control point, HACCP, controls. I ask the Minister to comment on that.

The fishermen are concerned about our fishing grounds at Rockall. They want a review of the migrant workers atypical scheme. They also want the Brexit adjustment reserve fund, of which €1.2 billion is said to be available to Ireland, to be used to redress the damage to the Irish fishing industry caused by the unfair loss of quota. A compensation package should be assessed and paid on the basis of the loss of earnings that will accrue from generation to generation and year after year in the future. The Minister might comment on that as well. What is the situation with respect to the €1.2 billion?

A lot of families around the coast, from Dingle to Wexford, are very concerned about the CFP. In the previous debate we had a discussion about wind energy off the coast but a lot of these families are worried about whether their future will be sustainable and if they will be able to survive or if they will have to stop fishing altogether. In industries like fishing and agriculture we need to attract young people to keep the business going and to keep it viable. It is very hard to attract younger people if there is no future or no wage at the end of a week. We know how difficult and how challenging it is for fishermen to go out into the Atlantic when the seas are rough and to bring in fresh fish that we all like and enjoy.

I am very interested in hearing the Minister's comments on these points and what he can do to reassure fishermen about their future, that they will have an income and they will be able to put food on their own tables as well as food on other tables, and that they will be treated more fairly, as they see it. Could the Minister indicate if he is in constant contact with the Irish South & West Fish Producers Organisation? What can he say to reassure those families about the future of their industry?

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