Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)

I am very pleased that the House agreed to take these statements at this very appropriate time, namely prior to the run-in to the December Council and the negotiations that will take place, particularly in respect of coastal states, over the coming weeks. I have been in this House since 1981, with the exception of a few short periods, and I believe this is the worst fishing crisis that will have been experienced since the foundation of the State unless something drastic happens in the next few weeks. I can only describe it as a real Armageddon, with no sector safe from the impacts and devastating fallout that will follow. Over the past five years, Norway, Iceland and the Faroe Islands have overfished mackerel by 1 million tonnes. In some years, Norway alone has overfished by 55%. These are the countries that are telling us we need a sustainable fishery. We are the custodians and we must ensure that there are stocks for the future, but that is not the way those to whom I refer are implementing the TACs and quotas in their countries.

In its scientific advice for stocks for 2026, ICES has called for a reduction, as the Minister of State, Deputy Dooley outlined, of 70% for mackerel, 41% for blue whiting and 20% for boarfish. This has the potential to cost Ireland between €130 million and €150 million in areas along the coast and in rural areas where there is no alternative source of employment. Our catching sector is facing the biggest cut to its fishing opportunities in history in real terms, as proposed in the 2006 recommendations. That cut is equivalent to the accumulative impact of four years' worth of Brexit transfers. I can state very clearly - and I mean this genuinely - that the fishing industry was thrown under the bus to secure Brexit. Had we threatened to veto Brexit, we would not have a problem today. We would have had a problem with Europe, but we certainly would have the mackerel we gave away to secure Brexit.

The processing sector will be severely impacted. As stated, numerous jobs will be lost in rural areas where there is no alternative source of employment. The processing sector could contract in the next 12 months to the tune of between €180 million and €200 million. The scale of the job losses and impacts is unprecedented and catastrophic. Between 2,200 and 2,400 jobs - I believe that is being realistic - could be gone inside the next six months.

The Department, the Minister of State and his colleagues in government must firm up. We must take Europe on. The Minister of State will not succeed unless he goes out to the various member states. It is not enough to negotiate with the maritime states. I do not believe that the Minister of State or the Minister, Deputy Heydon, will have time to visit each capital, but I suggest to the former that he call in the ambassadors of all these countries - not just in the coastal states but in all the other states in western Europe - because they will have an input. I know from experience over the years that they will go along with the Commission's recommendations. However, the Minister of State or the ambassadors could meet their counterparts or those responsible, highlight to them the implications for us and request them not to vote in favour of what is proposed. The latter should be made that very clear to them. They will go for a qualified majority, of course. I hope that the Tánaiste, who told me he is quite interested in resolving this, as is the Taoiseach, will call in the ambassadors and get them to go to the various capitals. The Minister of State should go to the maritime state capitals and the commissioners should do the others.

No disrespect to the Department - I was held this brief for years - but I believe we are all out of our depth on this. That is not just my fear; it is the fear of the industry. While I accept the Minister of State's bona fides and commitment, I am not fully convinced that all of his team are on top of this crisis. I believe that he and his team do not fully appreciate the detrimental effects of the proposed reductions. Have we the capacity to deal with the challenges ahead? This needs to be dealt with by an all-government approach, and I have made a recommendation to the Minister of State in that regard.

Europe has been weak when it comes to coastal states. Norway, which is the chief architect of the destruction of the mackerel stock, will again attempt to gain access to coastal waters off the west of Ireland over the coming weeks. I am pleased that the Minister of State has taken a very strong view and has instructed his officials to oppose the entry of Europe into the waters off the west of Ireland this year. I am grateful to him for that, and I hope he will follow through on it. We need a strongly united no from Ireland and the EU to Norway to stop supporting the industry and, moreover, the recovery of these shared stocks such as blue whiting and mackerel. We must also ensure that the Minister of State can convince Europe and that the market access and trade restrictions for fish products will be fully applied against Norway. That can be done against Norway, against the Faroes and against Iceland. It can be done under Regulation (EU) No. 1026/2012. That needs to be fully implemented, because Norway needs the European Union market to sell its products.

We could lose up to 40% to 50% of the value of our national quotas in monetary terms inside the next three months. Let that sink in. This is very serious for the country and, in particular, for the coastal counties, whether they are in Donegal, Galway or Mayo, right down to Cork and Kerry and across to Waterford and upwards. The proposals from ICES relate not just to mackerel but also to blue whiting and boarfish. Other species of demersal fish are also affected. I hope this will not have to happen, but if it does, the Government needs to immediately draw up a financial framework and a support package to cover the affected sectors, from catching to processing. If we are serious about this, then this needs to be done over the next four weeks. It is not good enough to say that the budget is over now and we have to look ahead. This is unprecedented and this financial framework should be drawn up.

The Government needs to address the weaknesses of our Department. For too long it has been too weak and out of touch with the fishing sectors and communities. It is being allowed to meander as it did before. We are weak within Europe and our presence needs to be strengthened there. Ireland's permanent representation in Brussels has to strengthen its representation there to look after our interests.

The big date is the Council meeting but it is done and dusted at that stage. A lot of the work has been done. It is over the next number of weeks that we want to ensure the officials get the additional support they need to prepare for that important meeting.

The Government needs to address the overregulation of fishing and processing. At times, we are so proud because we are implementing European legislation, rules and regulations but I believe that is killing the industry. I know full well that the Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority, SFPA, have driven away foreign landings from this country. They are not landing. They could be landing here but it has driven them away. Factory ships that work the waters around the country are unregulated with absolutely no oversight. No one knows what they are at out there and we do not have the capacity in the Defence Forces to try to ensure we stop that overfishing.

The Sea-Fisheries and Maritime Jurisdiction Act 2006 needs to be redrafted from scratch. I remember when I was on the other side of the House. It was the first time in the history of the State that a statutory instrument was rescinded in all those years, and I was the one who pioneered that because fishers were getting penalty points. If they went to court afterwards, the court might have overturned it but the penalty points still existed. If you drive down the M1 road and you get penalty points, you go to court and the penalty points are scratched whereas in this case, they are not. No sooner was I out of this House in 2020 than the penalty points were reintroduced. I was told by people on this side of the House; I did not even have the support of my own party. I had the support of Sinn Féin, Labour and the Independents. As soon I was gone, it was changed like that. It was wrong to that do that. I did not even get a telephone call to say that my rescinding of the penalty points was being undone, but I will deal with that on another day.

In the pelagic sector, we need, as a national policy of Government, to reintroduce in-factory weighing. I can take credit that I went to the then Commissioner, Mr. Joe Borg, when our pelagic fish were being weighed on the pier in ambient temperature, affecting the quality of the fish. I brought him over to Killybegs and he saw the futility of that. He introduced weighing in factories and now the factories are full of cameras. You do not have to leave the office in Killybegs, Castletownbere or wherever. You can see exactly what is going on. This is futile and the quality of the fish is being affected. That is something that has been looked at. There is an attitude that all of those in the fishing industry are criminals. I can state very clearly, having spent a lifetime in it, that they are good, honest, decent people who get very little support and create jobs in areas where there are no alternative sources of employment. In the pelagic sector, we need, as a national policy of Government, to reintroduce that in-house weighing. That is for another day but if it goes the way it is going, there might not be much need to weigh, given that there may be so little as a result of the cuts.

Year in, year out, we witness the effects of blue whiting being processed for human consumption. It was a fishery that we in this country pioneered. It was Ireland that pioneered it. I can also take some credit. I remember 1972 very well. We were going out the road to fish meal and at that time and I sent samples to a number of factories in Europe. They opened up the markets there and they are still continuing to this very day. I can take some credit and I fully understand it. Coming from a rural constituency, I realise the importance of fishing.

If we fail to get our house in order and we face into the greatest fishing and processing crisis in our history, we will pay the greatest price due to our own incompetence. I would strongly recommend that the Minister of State take up my suggestion and call in the Minister for foreign affairs or whoever and instruct the ambassadors to go to the various governments and make it very clear to them the implications of this. This demands immediate action, a completely new direction and new leadership.

I wish the Minister of State well in his endeavours. It is a difficult time and a lonely place to be. I was there for many years. It is a lonely place when you are in there but if you can secure the support of the some of the European maritime states, particularly those states with no interest whatsoever in fish, and convince them we are being done down, I believe he will get support from them.

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