Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the National Inshore Fishermen's Association, Michael Desmond and the inshore fishermen in County Kerry who I have consulted with about this matter over the past number of months. I thank our group, under Deputy Mattie McGrath. I was glad to propose this as our motion for today because of its importance. Hundreds of inshore fishermen have no income today.

I am very interested in the speech the Minister made earlier. He blamed those of us in opposition for not raising the issue of inshore fishermen enough. We are raising it today. We are giving the Minister an opportunity to do what we are looking for. Our motion aims to force the Government to finally act by allocating at least €12 million in funds to inshore shrimp and velvet crab fishermen from the €258 million available for the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund. We are asking the Minister to give the fishermen money today. Backbenchers support the Minister and said he is great. Is he going to give the fishermen money? Will he announce today that he will give them money? That is what we need.

I found the Minister's speech puzzling. He spoke about piers and harbours and said he had given money to piers. I would warmly welcome any money he would give to piers. In the 1990s and 2000s, I brought many deputations here to the late Jackie Healy-Rae, including fishermen from places in Kilmakilloge, Sneem, Blackwater and Cromane. He met Ministers who gave money for piers. We need to remember that a pier is no good if fishermen cannot fish from it because they do not have a thing called a quota.

That brings us onto quotas. What did Minister do about quotas? He is funding piers and said he gave €20 million to Donegal. I refer to the €43 million of the annual quota we lost during the Brexit negotiations. What has the Minister been doing to renegotiate that? What is he doing when it comes to fighting for more for our fishermen? A pier is no good if Irish fishermen cannot fish off it.

There are beautiful piers in Donegal and the Spanish are parked there. Spanish fishermen have the quota to go in and out of there. Our own lads are idle and have no income. I ask the Minister to address that and knock out the confusion. We are bringing forward the motion today. The Minister has welcomed it. When will he welcome it by saying he agrees with it and, not only that, he will put his money where his mouth is?

The Minister has said the issue is not raised enough. It is being raised today. I will tell the Minister who I am speaking on behalf of because I thank them for meeting me over the past number of weeks. I will start in the heartland of Deputy Michael Collins, Castletownbere. I thank those in Lauragh, Kilmakilloge, Tuosist, the Kenmare River, Castlecove, Caherdaniel, Blackwater, Sneem, Cahersiveen, the Ring of Kerry, Killorglin, Cromane and Dingle. All of these inshore fishermen have no money at the moment. I am standing here today on their behalf. I have met and consulted them. I spoke to them this morning and last night. They asked me to ask the Minister, in an earnest, but hard and firm way, whether he will give them the money because they need it.

They do not have any income. They cannot get any type of social welfare. They are not part of any scheme that is there for bigger fishermen. I do not begrudge the bigger fishermen anything. I cannot remember who it was, but perhaps it was a Sinn Féin Deputy who said earlier that there should be no such thing as trying to divide large and small fishermen. We are not doing that.

We are standing up today specifically for small inshore fishermen who might have a part-time or full-time income from fishing. At the moment, they have no income from fishing. I ask the Minister to please address that. I am on my knees today asking him to address that. The whole thrust of this motion is that we are looking for money.

When fisherpeople do not have an income, that has massive knock-on effect on local rural communities. All we want is a thing called fair play. There has been a sell-out over the years. Pair trawling in places like the Kenmare river, which others called Kenmare Bay, hoovers up everything that is there. It is morally wrong to do that and it is debarring other people from having stock to fish. I have raised this issue for many years. This practice resulted in a court case, which did not go right at the time. The issue needs to be sorted out to ensure the practice stops forever.

What are Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael backbenchers going to do? Are they going to sell out the fisherpeople in the same way that they sold out the farmers? I have no pride in saying on the record of the Dáil that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have lost rural Ireland. Do not mind the Green Party because it never had it to lose it. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have lost their hold over good people. I will not criticise people in those communities who supported Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael because they were sound and good workers and people. They are gone forever from them. I do not know where they are going to go, but I know they will not stand with Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael because they did not stand with them. They sold them out and let them down. We are here today scraping and begging to see whether the Minister will give them €12 million. The Minister made a great speech earlier but never said he would give them the money. It is absolutely crazy.

I want a bit of clarification about Union Hall because it was stated that an application was made for a barrier. That is factually incorrect.

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