Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Much has happened to fishing communities recently, with very little debate about it in this House. That says a lot about how these communities are thought of in this House. We had the shambles of the Brexit negotiations and the complete lack of attention the Government paid to fisheries. There has been the fiasco of the weighing investigation court case and the impact it has had on fishing, both pelagic and demersal. There is the ongoing treatment of foreign workers in our fishing fleet, which is a serious employment and human rights issue.

The Department, Minister and Government showed a complete lack of interest in what was happening with Brexit, to the extent that they have allowed other EU nations, supposedly our partners, to reap the best of a bad deal. We have been left with the worst of that deal. Sadly, our Minister shows no interest in belatedly trying to deal with the issue. When the deal was being made, the Department did not even know which Irish vessels were fishing in English waters, despite this being discussed for three years in advance of the deal.

The fiasco of the weighing system, including how it has been dealt with by the Department and the SFPA, is telling. Rather than deal with supposed wrongdoers, why do the SFPA and the Department damn the entire industry? Surely the right approach would be to deal with the problems and let everyone else continue to work? We have the crazy situation where the pelagic fishing industry had to take a judicial review to get a fair hearing about its solution to the problem because the SFPA would not or could not make a decision. We must consider the judicial review in the context of the SPFA's recent statement to the joint committee that it consults the industry on all matters at all times. I beg to differ. The record shows that this statement is an untruth. I use that word because apparently Members cannot say in the House that it is a lie.

We continue to be left with this treatment of the white fish fleet and the weighing disaster. Let us take how monkfish are treated when landed in order to get an accurate weight. If the ice is not removed fully, its weight will taken with the weight of the fish and the boat will lose out. It seems the fishermen do not really matter. That is certainly how they feel and I do not disagree with them.

If the SFPA has a job to do, why can it not work with the fishermen to achieve its aim? There appears to be an attitude that fishermen are all out to cheat the system and the SFPA will, therefore, behave that way too. The problem is that the fishermen have always been outdone by the system. The root of all these problems can be found in our negotiations to join the European Economic Community, as it was then. According to Garret FitzGerald, the EEC never again treated us as badly as it did with regard to fishing rights on our accession to the EEC. It cannot be said often enough that it did not have to treat us as badly again. We became net contributors to the EEC on the day we joined.

Sadly, we also have to discuss and acknowledge how fishermen have been treated. It is a great shame of the fishing industry that foreign fishermen have been maltreated across the sector. It should not happen. Sadly, when we look at how Irish fishermen were treated in the past, it is hardly surprising. All fishermen and workers should be treated with respect and offered proper pay and conditions. That is the least that any worker deserves. It is when our fishing communities can look to the Government to support them and help them to grow that we will see rural Ireland grow and survive. If communities could expect official support and proportionate rules, we would have an industry that supports everyone in rural Ireland. That is not too much for anyone to ask and it is all that fishermen are asking for at this stage. The Minister would do well to listen to them and get the Department and SFPA on board and working with rather than against them. Unfortunately, that is how things are in the industry and it is the root of the problem.

The root of the problem lies in our accession to the EU and what happened at that time. Unless the Government goes to Europe and actively deals with that issue through negotiations on the Common Fisheries Policy next year, the problem will, unfortunately, continue.

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