Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his reply. He said a Spanish boat was detained by the navy. In fact, it was not detained until last Monday, even though this incident took place the Friday before. The report to Valentia Island went in at 8 o'clock on the Friday morning. What would have happened if the Spanish fishers had decided to ram the Irish boat and sink our fishermen? Is there any protection for Irish fishermen when a foreign vessel is illegally fishing in our waters and attempting to ram them? Is there any protection under the Irish flag for the Irish fishing fleet? It seems to me that such protection is not in place at this time, and this particular incident confirms that.

It is not good enough to say the Spanish boat was detained. It should have been detained on the Friday morning. It should have been brought in for engaging in massive infringements, footage of which can be seen on social media, and terrifying the local fishermen from Castletownbere. Those fishermen have worked hard all their lives and invested their money in their livelihoods. They want to fish and fish fair. That is all they want to do. However, it seems to them that foreign vessels are protected first and Irish vessels are considered secondarily.

Will the Minister of State agree to launch an independent investigation into the actions of the SFPA, why the navy was not dispatched immediately, what happened when the call went in at 8 o'clock in the morning, and why it took three to four days to detain the Spanish vessel? I want answers and the people of Castletownbere and west Cork want answers. Every person who is fishing out of Ireland wants answers because their lives are at risk in the current situation. If the Government will not stand over and protect them when they are out at sea, who will protect them? That is the question we need answered but there has been no answer yet. I would appreciate if the Minister of State could furnish the answers to the points I have raised. I want to go back to the people who were terrified on that morning and the others who are worried about their livelihoods and their lives and assure them they are at least protected under the Irish flag and by the Irish Government.

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