Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú) | Oireachtas source

Ireland has some of the richest fishing grounds in the whole world, and it is unbelievable to see what has happened to the fishing industry under the policies of the Government. It is estimated that the Irish fleet only takes 15% of the fish out of Irish waters. I am still actually shocked by that figure, even though I have read it so many times, and that 85% of Irish fish in Irish waters is actually taken by foreign trawlers and other fishing boats. It is an amazing situation.

The industry is, I believe, €1.3 billion in size, and 11,000 people are employed in it. The Minister might think the fishing industry is a small thing, and not to be worried about or discussed. However, it is actually a big thing because it is a touchstone issue for people. People not in fishing are still significantly aggrieved by previous Governments handing over such a large amount of Ireland's wealth to the European Union. People are very angry about the Government's track record on this, and they also recognise that what is happening to the fishing industry is about to happen to the agricultural sector as well, which is that the Government flew the white flag on fishing 20 or 30 years ago, and now it is doing the same to the agricultural sector. I pay tribute to Patrick Murphy, who is the CEO of the Irish South and West Fish Producers Organisation, and also the Aontú candidate for Ireland South in the upcoming European elections. He has done tremendous work for the fishing industry. However, that sector is being hammered. Boats are being decommissioned. Irish quotas are reducing due to Brexit, etc., and now for large number of areas, Ireland has a lower quota of Irish fish than other European countries, which is an absolutely incredible situation.

The first question I want to ask the Minister is: did the Danes offer Ireland 12,000 tonnes of mackerel?

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