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

I thank the Minister of State. I know he is new to his brief and I wish him well. I really do wish him well because if he does well, obviously our fishing communities will do well.

There has been a major diplomatic failure in respect of this matter. The British authorities have engaged in a brazen intervention. Rockall is an uninhabited rock. Unfortunately, after Brexit we passed the Maritime Jurisdiction Act, which incorporates a 2013 agreement that would have given the British control of the waters around Rockall but not the ability to impose a limit in respect of them, which would have been completely unreasonable. As stated, the Minister of State is new to his brief. I ask him to bring a fresh impetus to this issue and ensure that we go back at it again in a constructive manner. We cannot tolerate what is happening.

I wonder if there is a role for the European Commission here, particularly as it negotiated the trade and co-operation agreement. This is brazen behaviour by the British and it is in bad faith in terms of that agreement. Could we use the European Commission as an ally to resolve this issue?

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