Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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1. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to provide an update on negotiations with the British Government to reinstate access for the Irish fishing fleet to its traditional fishing grounds at Rockall; and the estimated total financial loss to the Irish fishing industry since the blockade has been enforced by the UK authorities. [13670/25]

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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I am raising the very serious issue of the waters around Rockall, which comprise a traditional fishing ground for Irish fishers. There was no concern prior to Brexit, with reciprocal fishing arrangements between both jurisdictions. However, for four years the British authorities have put a blockade around what is an uninhabited rock. Under international law, it is not permissible to put any kind of limit on this. Will the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine provide an update on the Government's engagement with the British Government to get this issue sorted out?

Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy. He has always been consistent in his interest in this matter.

As the Deputy is aware, Ireland has never made any claims to Rockall nor has Ireland ever recognised UK sovereignty claims over Rockall. Accordingly, Ireland has not recognised a 12-nautical-mile territorial sea around it. This remains the position of the Government, and that is well understood in this House.

The Government continues to be in regular contact with the relevant Scottish and UK authorities regarding Rockall. Through this engagement, the Government is seeking to address the issues involved, reflecting the long-standing fisheries patterns in the area with which the Deputy is very familiar. I know from constituents of his that this matter is of considerable concern to them, and the Deputy has raised it on a number of occasions.

Irish vessels have traditionally fished for haddock, which is subject to a quota limit, and squid, which is not subject to a quota limit, in the waters around Rockall. Haddock may be caught both within and outside 12 nautical miles of Rockall, but squid is caught within six nautical miles of Rockall. Other stocks caught in the waters around Rockall, both within the 12-mile area and outside, are monkfish and megrim. That is something the Deputy is very well versed in.

In 2021, the seafood sector task force was established to examine the impacts of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement on our fishing sector and coastal communities and to make recommendations on the mitigation strategy. The task force examined the impact of the loss of access to the waters around Rockall and estimated that Ireland's total squid fishery in 2019 was valued at around €6.6 million. The majority of squid was taken from the waters surrounding Rockall, and this amounted to 1,071 tonnes, valued in excess of €5 million, in 2019 and 371 tonnes, valued at €1.6 million, in 2020.

Squid landings by Irish vessels from the Rockall area have varied considerably from year to year, ranging from under 300 tonnes in 2016 to more than 1,000 tonnes in 2017 and 2019.

The sporadic nature of the fishery is consistent with squid's short lifespan and erratic recruitment dynamics. Given this variation, it is difficult to put a realistic estimate-----

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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I thank the Minister of State.

Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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-----on what the value of the fishery since 2021 has been or could have been.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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The Minister of State can back come in again.

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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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?

Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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I am committed to finding a way forward if at all possible. I will continue to work closely with the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Simon Harris. The Deputy is right in saying that the trade and co-operation agreement has implications. It needs to be looked at again for the impact it will have in 2026. I am happy to engage on that basis and to try to involve the matter insofar as is possible in that discussion. I will raise the matter with Commissioner Šefčovič in that regard. I am happy to have a discussion with the Deputy at his convenience. We can work together to try to move that diplomatic situation forward because, ultimately, it will be resolved in those quarters. I again thank the Deputy for his interest.

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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I appreciate the offer to meet. As the Minister of State knows, it is not even just the Donegal fisherman based in Greencastle and Killybegs who would be seriously impacted. I understand that 25% of the value of the fishery for Greencastle has been lost, but it also has an impact down in Castletownbere and the west of Ireland too, so this is an all-of-Ireland issue. I will engage with the various fishing organisations and talk to the Minister of State. We really need to challenge our diplomatic team. We have to do better here. It really is brazen. As the Minister of State has said, it has cost us anything from €5 million to €6 million per annum. When that is multiplied, it is a serious hit on an industry that is really struggling. I appreciate the offer to meet. I will talk to the fishing organisations and come back to the Minister of State.