Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I was motivated to put this question after meeting inshore fishermen from the east coast, where they have had a bad experience of offshore renewable energy development. They were effectively told about it after the fact. This has had a serious impact. Fishers from Dublin and Wicklow have built up a good whelk fishery, but it is under serious threat as a result of what has happened.

Will the Minister agree to meet the National Inshore Fishermen’s Association, in particular the fishers from the east coast who are on that body, and listen to their experience so as to ensure that what they have been through is not repeated anywhere on this island? This is a shared marine resource with three key stakeholders – the people who protect our ecosystem, the fishing communities and the offshore renewable energy industry. We need to ensure there is a level playing pitch for all.

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