Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

Over the past few months in our discussions of the Common Agriculture Policy, CAP, the Minister has repeatedly informed me that his position is to seek as much national discrepancy, or flexibility as he calls it, as possible for CAP funding. He also informed me that the national CAP plan is “a matter of engaging fully with farmers throughout the country on what our plan should look like, and fully consulting everyone before I, as Minister, make any calls on that". I may disagree with the ambivalence of the Minister’s position on CAP, but if that is the standard he wishes to take, that is fine. He is committed to engaging extensively with relevant stakeholders before making significant decisions. However, he is obliged to be consistent. Fishing communities have not, in any way, received the same level of consideration and consultation.

From the disastrous Brexit deal announced on Christmas week to the ongoing issues with the Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority weigh systems, fishing communities have not been consulted with, apart from an online town hall meeting he referred to after all of these decisions were made. Moreover, they feel the Government is actually working against them in many cases rather than with them.

The Minister has to recognise the double standard here, and why fishing and coastal communities are feeling abandoned. I also note how the lack of engagement with coastal and fishing communities regarding the Marine Jurisdiction Bill is indicative of how the Government views these areas and does not bother engaging with them.

There are numerous significant issues for the sector which have been highlighted at recent protests, including the unfair trade and co-operation agreement, TCA, between the UK and the EU and the absence of natural justice from the penalty points for fisheries offences. These are, of course, symptoms of the Government’s lack of engagement with these communities. If the Minister commits to anything today, can it please be to bring the same energy and commitment to engaging with fishing communities as he does for others? Will he have consultations across the country with these communities, and as part of that will he ensure to engage with all fishing communities?

The closure of the artisanal hook and line fishery for mackerel for vessels under 15 m in length is another example of a regressive step. As a result of this change, even the smallest vessels in the fleet can no longer go out and catch a few dozen mackerel for sale at the likes of a farmers market. This a fishing method which is probably, we can all agree, the most environmentally friendly of all.

When one consider that simultaneously 98% of the quota is allocated to 49 larger boats, the mind boggles. For anyone who does not know, and I do not believe that many people do, the mackerel quota is distributed nationally by ministerial policy. I ask the Minister how is it that fewer than 50 boats are getting 98% of the quota, while only 2% of the quota is being allocated to the inshore sector of almost 2,000 boats. This is the sector that has the most sustainable type of fishing practices which we should all be supporting. This is blatantly a policy for the few and not the many. Our inshore fisheries are more environmentally friendly and use the kind of fishing practices that have been going on in coastal and island communities forever. This is also where the vast majority of employment is in the sector. What is the Minister actually doing? Can he please explain to us or justify how this has happened, where 2% of the fishing quota is going to where the vast majority of the employment is in the sector with the most sustainable practices, and where 98% of the quota is then going to 50 boats? For almost two years, representatives of the inshore sector have been seeking a very modest increase in that 400 tonnes. Regrettably, these requests are getting nowhere and the lack of a producer organisation, PO, status for many in the inshore sector is a component of this. They have made reasonable requests that the quota is allotted to recognise that the 400 tonnes set aside for the line-caught mackerel is insufficient to allow the over 1,000 boats under 15 m to manage.

The fishing season is being cut short due to the quota being landed early, which has knock-on effects for fishers, other workers whose livelihoods depend on it, and coastal and island communities on the whole. Line-caught is an inherently sustainable model given its low impact nature, the absence of by-catch, and the short fishing window each day. I ask the Minister to engage with the National Inshore Fisheries Forum on this issue immediately. In the overall scheme of things a small adjustment to this quote will make the world of a difference for the inshore fishers and to our coastal and island communities.

Related to that, as I have said, is the PO status of inshore fishers and while I welcome the progress in recognition of the island inshore PO, it is essential that the Minister continues to prioritise the granting of PO status to small-scale representative groups to better reflect small and family businesses. There are things in respect of inshore fisheries that we do not hear enough about such as small piers. I can think of many examples in my own constituency but to give one, the pier at Turkhead, almost 20 people are making a living off that pier, with many commuting out to islands. It is used as a public amenity for things like kayaking and the pier literally drops off. There is not even a slipway there or somewhere to turn. There are vans in different scenarios where the back wheels have gone off the pier because there is absolutely no infrastructure there for them.

Like I said, this inshore sector represents the vast majority of employment of fishers in the country. They do not even get a hearing. I was on the coastal management committee on Cork County Council for a brief period but at the first meeting I remember saying that we might as well not bother talking about all of the different areas that need work and start talking about how we get more funding because Cork is a very large county with a very significant coastal area that does not have the funding to provide the basic infrastructure for small fishing families to make a living. Finally on this point, can the Minister outline the actions he has taken in response to the Norwegian Government unilaterally increasing its share in the mackerel fishery by 55%?

I would also like to highlight the need for greater commitment around ensuring fairer, sustainable and ethical practices in the fishing sector. Ultimately, the continuity of the sector relies on good fishery management but this needs to be operated with communities rather than the top-down approach we have now. Communities need to feel that State services are working with them and only then will we have a successful model.

Regrettably there are a small minority who engage in practices such as illegal fishing or the abuse of workers. We need more robust mechanisms to detect and punish these crimes, which not only cause environmental harm and violate the rights of individuals but also harm legitimate fishers in the sector.

We know that there are undocumented migrants operating on some vessels and we know this is a highly vulnerable cohort given their precarious position. Can the Minister elaborate on his commitment to ending abusive employment practices in the fisheries and give an assurance to any undocumented persons or their advocates that they can come forward and that the undocumented individual will not be themselves punished or, indeed, deported as a result of reporting a crime? Can the Minister outline how he intends to work with fishing communities to stamp out illegal fishing?

As we recover from Covid-19, we have considerable potential to re-imagine and invigorate our marine sector and help develop our coastal and island communities. There are many different ideas for this. One is of a national marine park and there are examples of this in other countries like Wales, where it takes into consideration the local, social and economic importance of the fisheries sector but does not mean eliminating the practices, although it sometimes is perceived like that. This could support our inshore fisheries, our tourism and greatly help coastal and island communities on the whole.

Despite the lack of consultation, the Marine Jurisdiction Bill and the national marine planning framework have the potential to redefine our relationship with the sea and our maritime space. We have an opportunity to grow our blue economy, creating more jobs in coastal communities while delivering a healthy marine environment that is resilient to the mounting pressures of biodiversity loss, climate change and pollution. This can only be achieved by working directly with people. This requires a cross-departmental approach. At present, fishers have to go to the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage for issues around offshore developments, while the Department of Foreign Affairs is handling the Maritime Jurisdiction Bill.

I think we all agree we need a unified approach centred on the needs of coastal and island communities, and the Minister needs to take leadership on this.

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