Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Irrespective of whether we sit tomorrow, I want to make the point that I am moving an amendment to the Order of Business today to the effect that the Minister should come to the House today to deal with the important issues I have raised.

Fishing is rarely raised here but it is vitally important that we debate it from time to time. The result of the quota will be to decommission 50% of our boats if we comply with the law, and that is a serious issue. Half of the trawlers and half of the fishermen have gone from the port of Castletownbere which is close to where I live. There are 700 employed in the fishing industry in the Castletownbere region, either directly or processing on the shore. Half of those jobs will go. It is a scientific and economic fact that a recent survey of Beara Peninsula showed that 70% of the economic output on the peninsula was due to the fishing industry. If we consider that, we can also consider Rossaveal, Kilmore Quay and Dunmore East in the same light. I will push very hard for an amendment to the Order of Business on this important issue. It is very serious that at any given time half of the whitefish fleet can be tied up at the behest of the SFPA. There is something ludicrously wrong in that. It is about time that the Minister demand extra quota or fair play from Europe for Irish fishermen in Irish waters.