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

The inshore fishers on the east coast have had an horrific experience. It can never be repeated anywhere in Ireland. They have correspondence, which I have seen, from the Director General of the Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, DG MARE, Ms Charlina Vitcheva. She laid out very clearly the balance that needed to be struck between developing offshore renewable energy and protecting the marine ecosystems, fishing communities and traditional fishing grounds.

To be frank, Minister, we have had these exchanges before. I hope there will be changes in the culture in the Minister’s Department because I do not believe that fishing communities have been valued the way they should have been. The events on the east coast happened because there was no respect for fishing communities and fishers. The sole motivation was just one stakeholder, that being, renewable energy. I hope that culture will be brought to an end and we deal with this properly in the best interests of everyone.

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