Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Rural Independent Group for bringing forward this important motion. That is not surprising, seeing as I come from County Mayo, where we have many coastal communities. Those communities are in places such as Erris, Achill, Clare Island, Ballycastle, Porturlin and right along the coast. One of the major concerns they have had for years is that they have had to stand and watch as massive trawlers raid their fish. Those trawlers show complete disregard for their own workers. I have just come from a presentation in the audiovisual room at which the workers on those boats described the slave-like conditions in which they have to work. These trawlers also show absolute disregard for the marine ecosystems. The fishermen and their forefathers have watched out for the ecosystem and for generations have protected those ecosystems. Their hands are now tied while they watch their fish being given away. There is now high unemployment in fishing communities. They are experiencing real difficulties. Those fishermen are watching their natural resources being given away. It is no wonder these communities feel they have been neglected by consecutive governments. The EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement that came out of Brexit merely served as the most recent example of the Government selling out the Irish fishing communities. The Irish Government failed to put up any real fight to secure a fair share of the opportunities with other EU member states as part of that agreement. We need increased access to fish in our waters to enable us to sustain and grow rural coastal communities.

Inshore fishing happens within six nautical miles of the coast and yet it makes up over 90% of the entire fishing fleet of registered Irish vessels and comprises the large majority of those directly employed in the sector. The importance of inshore fisheries in sustaining coastal communities cannot be overstated. It is estimated that 2,500 to 3,000 jobs, livelihoods and families are supported in that sector. These are important jobs for the communities in the areas I come from. Those communities can never hope for large multinational corporations to come to their areas. They depend on inshore fishing. They have been hit by Brexit, Covid-19, increased fuel costs, reduced markets and ongoing unequal access to fishing opportunities. The Minister needs to listen to the inshore fishing sector and put right what has been wrong for years.

See this speech in context