Johnny Mythen (Wexford, Sinn Fein)

The Taoiseach recently made a speech at the UN Oceans Conference in Nice. He said:

[In] ... supporting sustainable fishing, we will not only protect our marine environment but also preserve and strengthen all the special communities along our shores that call the coast their home.

These are fine words. However, in reality, our fishing industry is dying a slow death. Sinn Féin's recent nationwide fisheries and seafood survey found that more than 63% of fishers described the Department of the marine's engagement with the industry as "inadequate or not engaging at all". As one fisherman said:

I’m fishing since I was 15 years of age, I’m now 50 ... I’ve never seen the industry in such bad shape [in] all sectors. There is no political will to seriously help the industry sad to say I won’t be in [this] much longer the way it is heading hard to pay the bills now with poor quotas that we have

Quota cuts on species such as mackerel and pollock are crippling the industry. Out of 12% of the Irish EU waters, Irish fishers only get approximately 5.6% of the quotas. Is this how the Government protects our special communities along our shores that call the coast their home? I think not. We are surrounded by some of the richest fishing waters in the world. We are an island. We must make the most of our natural maritime resources to benefit all our coastal communities and the nation as a whole.

Sinn Féin welcomes the re-establishment of the Minister of State with responsibility for fisheries and the marine. We wish the Minister of State every success in his new role, but we are also calling on him and his Department to establish fish Ireland office based in Brussels to represent the whole of the Irish fisheries industry, equivalent to the present strong Dutch representation that is there now. What is needed most is increased investment in maritime infrastructure, especially in places such as Kilmore Quay, Duncannon, Slade and Rosslare.

We need a strong voice for the fishers of Ireland, especially when Ireland will have the European Presidency role in the latter half of 2026. We look forward to working with the Minister of State. Sinn Féin will continue to support our fishers to the hilt. The Minister of State mentioned that he was going to different fishing communities. I extend an invitation for him to visit Kilmore Quay.

See this speech in context