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

I really have to note how much Fine Gael cares about fishing when not one of its Members can even be here to speak on this really important subject, particularly the Fine Gael TDs from coastal communities.

I want to talk about the inshore sector, which provides more than 50% of employment in Ireland in the seafood industry. Everyone is aware of the unfair division of quotas and distribution at an EU level. However, what is even more difficult to understand or justify is how quotas are divided among the Irish fishing sectors.

The most sustainable method of fishing on the planet is hook and line for mackerel. These fishermen make up 95% of the fleet. How can this Government continue to stand over its decision - not an EU decision - to give them less than 1% of the national mackerel quota? The herring allocation is not much better, at 5% for the inshore boats. The current situation favours a tiny minority, while the majority finds itself discriminated against by the Government. It is shameful. I have been talking about this for I do not know how many years since I started talking about fishing.

Article 17 of the Common Fisheries Policy requires the State to allocate fishing opportunities using transparent and objective criteria. These should be based on social, environmental and economic criteria. The exact opposite is happening in Ireland. The Government is not just contravening Article 17; it is breaking its own quota policy. The Government's management policy is supposed to guard against the concentration of quota in a few large companies, but all its policies have done exactly that. By basing quotas on track records and attaching them to vessels, those with money can buy tonnage with the track record attached. Will this Government bring forward a mackerel hook and line policy that is fair and that can deliver for the inshore fishing sector? The inshore sector is an integral part of Erris, Belmullet and all the coastal communities. I do not want to be standing in the Chamber again talking to the Minister about mackerel hook and line quotas.

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