Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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98. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his plans for the December EU Fisheries Council to mitigate further losses in fish quota to Ireland's fishing fleet; his engagements over recent weeks with his counterparts in other member states to defend our interests; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [66298/25]

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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The Minister of State knows that the Irish fishing fleet took a huge hit as a result of Brexit, and the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement resulted in a huge loss of fish, but it is about to get a whole lot worse with the imminent cuts to the mackerel quota. Mackerel is a prime fish species, which is really critical to so many jobs in Ireland. I want to get a sense of the Government's plan on how to mitigate this and also to ensure that those who are recklessly overfishing are stopped urgently.

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Mac Lochlainn for raising what is a really significant and very important issue. At the outset, I would like to acknowledge the challenges facing the seafood sector in 2026, and the concerns felt across the industry arising from the scientific advice for 2026 for some of our most important fish stocks, particularly mackerel, as Deputy Mac Lochlainn outlined. I am aware of the seriousness and impact this advice will have on the sector.

Ireland has repeatedly raised the overfishing of mackerel by some coastal states outside the EU over recent years. We raised the issue under any other business, AOB, at the October Council of Agriculture and Fisheries Ministers, calling for urgent action at EU level to protect our key pelagic stocks. I reiterated this again last week at the November AGRIFISH Council meeting. The Minister of State, Deputy Dooley, and I will continue to highlight this critical issue for our fishers and engage intensively with the European Commissioner for Fisheries and Oceans and other member states on possible actions to protect our stocks. At that November Council meeting, I also confirmed Ireland’s intention to invoke the Hague Preferences at the appropriate time along with the Minister of State, Deputy Dooley. The Hague Preferences give Ireland an increased share of important fish stocks, as the Deputy knows, when total allowable catch, TAC, levels reduce below a specified level. It was made clear to member states at the November Council meeting that the Hague Preferences are a fundamental part of relative stability and have been recognised as such in the legal framework of the Common Fisheries Policy since 1983 when the CFP was established.

Most of the EU fish stocks for which Ireland has quota are shared with third countries. The European Commission has sole competence to negotiate with third countries on behalf of the EU and our priority is that the EU secures the best possible outcome for the Irish fishing community. That is why we continue to advocate. The most important thing we do is use every channel diplomatically open to us to advocate but also explain the impact previous fishing activity has had and what the implications of that are for our fishing industry into next year.

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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The difficulty is that there are corporations based in the European Union that have invested in the fleets in Iceland and the Faroe Islands that have been recklessly overfishing. My concern is that there has been a lack of political will as a result of their lobbying skills over the last number of years. We have been watching this slow-moving car crash. Mackerel is a precious species. It is a migratory species. It spawns off the west coast of Ireland and works its way up to those northern waters. To see it recklessly overfished to the point where we could lose it very soon is utterly heartbreaking. There are hard-working people who took chances in this country and who built up a pelagic industry, and they have been betrayed by this failure to deal with this issue. This is a matter of great urgency, and it goes to the heart of the need to really have a Common Fisheries Policy that is just and fair to our people.

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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I absolutely understand. The Deputy articulated quite clearly the sense of injustice and the upset and concern. What we do is use our voice within the EU because the EU is the competent negotiator in terms of that trade, and there are a lot of negotiations going on with third countries. The EU-UK negotiations began on 4 November and will continue until the first week of December. The EU-UK-Norway negotiations began on 27 October. The second round took place on 17-20 November, and the third round is scheduled for the first week in December. The EU-Norway negotiations began on 3 November, with the second round on 24-27 November in Oslo. At the coastal states consultation on the TAC setting for mackerel, the EU, Norway, Iceland and Greenland were prepared to set the 2026 TAC in line with the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, ICES, advice of 174,357 tonnes. However, the UK and Faroe Islands indicated that they needed more time. Therefore, there currently is no agreement for a TAC agreement for mackerel. The coastal states also agreed the TAC for blue whiting and Atlanto-Scandian herring in line with the ICES advice. That is all ongoing, and our job is to input into the EU the very significant impact this is having in Ireland.

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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I do appreciate the fact that we have a dedicated Minister of State for fisheries, which has been a welcome development, who is engaging and listening to our communities. We now need to use that resource with all the knowledge, working hand-in-hand with the Irish industry, to confront this injustice once and for all and to say to the European Commission that what happened with Brexit was so wrong.

We did not have burden sharing and we carried so much of that weight. I am glad the Minister mentioned the UK. It is a party to this recklessness. It benefited from Brexit. It got an agreement that was not based on relative stability or track record. It was based on what is called zonal attachment and those communities closest to the fishing waters. This is what we would love to have in Ireland. It is what Britain got and it cannot have its cake and eat it. This is about countries which I respect, such as Norway, the Faroe Islands and Iceland. I have nothing against their people or the British people but this is reckless behaviour. It is unjust and unfair. We have to call it out and it has to stop. We need to have fairness and justice. We need to protect jobs in our vulnerable coastal fishing communities.

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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The Commission has indicated its intention to conclude the consultations in time for the AGRIFISH Council on 11 and 12 December. It has yet to be seen whether it will be successful in this. As we move towards the finalisation of setting 2026 fishing opportunities, my focus, and that of the Minister of State, Deputy Dooley, over the coming weeks will be to continue to work towards the best possible outcome for Ireland's seafood sector in 2026, one that ensures the sustainability of the stocks and a level playing field for our fleet. It is also important to recognise the resilience and determination with which the sector has addressed challenges in recent years. The Government recognises that resilience and determination, and funding opportunities for the sector will continue to be delivered in the lifetime of Ireland's €258 million seafood development programme, EMFAF.

I will also continue to work with ministerial colleagues across government to assess what supports may be available to the seafood sector in the context of EU state aid rules, and within the constraints of national and Union funding, to support the sustainability of the sector in 2026 and beyond. To address the core point, I absolutely accept that fishers want a fair deal. I agree that having a Minister of State dedicated to this area is positive. The Minister of State, Deputy Dooley, has my full backing. We work hand in glove, and we will both be out in Brussels together, to make sure we articulate very clearly the impact of ICES on our fisher communities and to get the best deal possible.