Naoise Ó Cearúil (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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97. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the planned financial supports for pelagic fishers and processors following the proposed 70% cut to mackerel quotas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54999/25]

Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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My question is to ask the Minister of State with responsibility for the marine about the plans he has to address the Commission's proposals to reduce, drastically, the pelagic total level catches.

Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Deputy Gallagher for his interest in this matter. It is something he has been in regular contact with me about both in advance of the scientific advice being released and since then. I know, in particular, of his interest in the Killybegs area and the significant shock this will bring to the community of Killybegs, not just to those directly involved in the processing and catching sectors but also to all of the ancillary businesses that make up the ecosystem around the sector.

In the first instance, I have raised this matter with the European Commissioner to examine what framework could be put in place to address the significant cut. I had a preliminary conversation with the Taoiseach, and with the Minister for public expenditure, Deputy Chambers, to put them on notice of the scientific advice and the impact that will have on the sector. There are medium-term and long-term situations that have to be addressed. I have begun that conversation with other member states and with the Commission about how we address the significant level of overfishing that has taken place as a result of the unilateral allocation of quota by third countries, particularly those in the coastal states outside the Union, principally Norway, Iceland and the Faroe Islands. With colleagues across the Government and across member states, we will have to look to other tools outside of what would be in the Common Fisheries Policy, CFP, or within the preserve of Directorate General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, DG MARE, to see how we can ensure Norway shows a much greater level of respect for the necessity to conserve stocks in line with the total allowable catch that is identified by ICES. This continued unilateral allocation of quota that is not based on scientific evidence is damaging, in an existential way, the future of our fishing sector.

Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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10 o’clock

An indication of the urgency was the Minister of State travelling to Killybegs last Sunday week to meet representatives of the sector from all parts of the country, from Donegal to Cork. There is no need to outline the utter devastation that will result from the reduction of the mackerel quota by 70% and blue whiting by 41%. Thousands of jobs in the sector will be lost. This is the same sector that paid the price to get Brexit over the line and listened to Michel Barnier telling us fish would not be affected and would be inextricably linked with trade. Of course, he threw the sector under the bus. I attended many Council of Ministers' meetings over the years, but this is the worst ever. Even if the reduction is less than 70%, it will make little difference. The Hague preferences will add very little. The Minister of State mentioned other countries. I make a charge that Iceland, Norway and the Faroe Islands acted irresponsibly in not accepting the advice of ICES. They are responsible for this, as is the UK now as well.

Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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I full concur with the Deputy's analysis and vast experience. His name is regularly mentioned at the Council and in the European Parliament regarding the interest he has had not just for the Irish fishing sector but also for the sector at a wider European level. His insights were of particular importance. He is right in identifying that the fishing sector paid a particular price with the transfer of 26% of the mackerel quota for continued access to EU waters. There was a cut based on scientific information last year of approximately 20% in terms of our quota. There was 26%, followed by 20% and now a proposed cut in line with scientific advice of over 70%. By any yardstick, that is devastating. What gives me the energy to keep going is that we got support through the Brexit adjustment reserve with the cut of 26%. We will have to find a way to support the sector through a 70% cut until such a time as we see the biomass improve and stocks recover in line with the conservation methods set out in the scientific advice.

Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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At this stage, it is not compensation we want; we want fish. The Minister of State will have to get the European Council to assist him. This is the first time this has happened. I go back to the days of Commissioner Damanaki, who was more in favour of Iceland than the European maritime states. The Minister of State's problem is that he will go into a Council of Ministers meeting and there will be ministers there from non-coastal countries. They will accept the advice of the Commission. He will have to work on them as well. He has to highlight to them the serious implications of this drastic cut. We think of fisherman and factory workers, but there are ancillary industries upstream and downstream that will lose out as a result. It is not compensation; it is fish we want. I wish the Minister of State well. He has the support of the sector and of a very active fisheries committee in his endeavours.

Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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I am conscious of the economic impact on our coastal communities. In successive programmes for Government, we set out a desire to continue to support coastal communities. The Deputy is right; it is through allowing fishers to catch and process fish that we support those communities. I will have to be guided by the scientific advice, as other Ministers have been previously. I know the sector does not want handouts or supports. We will have to look at a framework by means of which we can support the communities and sectors to work through what is without doubt the most difficult challenge it will have faced in its existence, and certainly since the introduction of the Common Fisheries Policy and our accession to the European Union. I am particularly conscious that the pelagic sector is one which the Irish fleet and Irish entrepreneurs and fishermen have really developed over the years. It is a credit to them, their ingenuity and hard work when you look at what Killybegs has become. I do not need to tell the Deputy that, particularly as he was born and raised in that region and has seen how it has been transformed. It has allowed people to work there and for a younger population to regenerate and not be scourged by the emigration that bedevilled the communities around Killybegs back in the fifties and sixties.