Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I call for an urgent debate on the fishing industry. I propose an amendment to the Order of Business to invite to the House the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Simon Coveney, if he is back in the State, in order that he might explain to us what he has done in Europe and how he achieved it. He should outline the fundamental changes proposed. I heard him speak on "Morning Ireland” this morning. If one had no knowledge of the fishing industry, one would be impressed by the beautiful language used and the fact that the agreement is historic, etc. However, because I am involved with Senator Brian Ó Domhnaill in producing a new fisheries Bill and have been consulting people widely in west Cork and the rest of the south, and also County Donegal, I realise that the fishing organisations, which number five rather than six, have not been consulted by the Minister since Christmas. The initiative was driven by departmental officials. This morning I asked a man who has been involved in fishing for nearly 40 years – I believe he is distantly related to the Minister – about the proposals on discards. He says they are unworkable and will not achieve the desired effect. Another fisherman, to whom I spoke this morning after having rung him to see whether he had been listening to the radio programme, says that, irrespective of the situation in Europe and circumstances in ten years, many people will have left the fishing industry in Ireland in the next five or six years because the laws are unworkable and the industry is overregulated, such that fishermen are finding it impossible to make a living.

It is extraordinary that the fishing organisations from County Donegal to County Cork - I have great respect for many of them - were not consulted. If this happened in the agriculture industry, the IFA, the ICSA and other organisations would be up in arms. I am not raising this matter lightly; I am deeply concerned about the fishing industry which constitutes a minority grouping. There are not too many fishermen and the number is dwindling, but the industry is important. I call for an urgent debate, today if at all possible. If the Minister is back in Ireland, I ask that the Order of Business be amended. The Minister is extremely busy; I am not saying otherwise. We had an excellent Minister of State, Mr. Shane McEntee, who, unfortunately, passed away last year. It is regrettable that he has not been replaced because there has been an appalling lack of effort on the part of the Government. It is not that there are not enough candidates in the Labour Party or Fine Gael to fill the role. There are many Members waiting for the call. If a Minister of State could be appointed with specific authority to deal with the fishing industry, I would welcome it.