Michael Comiskey (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the deal done on discards in Brussels after a marathon session. I congratulate the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food for chairing the meeting. This will address the issue of badly depleted fish stocks. It is immoral to see millions of tonnes of fish being dumped overboard just because fishermen were not complying with quotas. The deal will mean a ban of 93% of discards immediately and a full ban by 2019. The reforms will help sustain the stock into the future. It is welcome news for the fishermen around our coasts.