Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister. I appreciate these matters have to be given due consideration, but the position for island dwellers is that their opportunities for making a livelihood are limited because they live on an island in the sea and do not have many of the opportunities people living in any other part of the country have. They have a tradition of using small boats and they have an opportunity to try to make a living from that. While I appreciate the work the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, and other Ministers may be doing to try to make the islands more viable, if people cannot make a living, they will not be viable. This is an opportunity to carve out a tiny percentage of the quota to support those who live on the islands and are artisan fishers. The likes of eight to ten boxes of fish a day is all they are talking about catching. They are not like the massive trawlers. What really annoys them is that they see the fish stocks being taken by these supertrawlers while they cannot make a living.

The legislation originated in the committee of the previous Dáil, which was chaired by the then Deputy Andrew Doyle. A report on the islands was produced and this concept came from that report. That is why it is important we progress it. I understand the Minister has to consider everything and that legal issues will be involved but, at the end of the day, the people who live on the islands need to make a living and this is an opportunity to give them a chance to do that.

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