Brian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I agree with Senator Conway in regard to the difficulties being experienced as a result of the decision taken by the European Commission and notified to the Irish authorities last Friday in regard to the fishing quotas. These will affect the pelagic fishing stocks and the white fish sector and will cost, according to BIM figures, approximately €70 million in lost revenue. It will also cause the loss of between 400 and 500 jobs, between processing and fishing and will see a reduction in the north west, of approximately 23% in the number of fish that can be caught. This will cost the economy in that area approximately €1 million, not to mention the processing sector.

This issue was discussed yesterday at the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine, which was attended by the Minister, Deputy Coveney. We must all wear the Irish jersey, whether in opposition or government, and must put up as strong a case as possible against the Commission's proposal. The Commission is trying to give concessions to Iceland and the Faroe Islands on the mackerel quota. This is a disgraceful proposal on the part of the Commission. Instead of implementing the trade sanctions it had been promising for over 18 months, it is now conceding and providing Iceland and the Faroe Islands with additional stock. This is totally unacceptable and will wipe out a large proportion of the pelagic sector within our fishing industry. This cannot be accepted. If the Minister is available to come to the House ahead of the meeting of the Council of Ministers, we should avail of that opportunity. However, I will not press that now. The Minister, BIM and the Marine Institute need our support now. We must work with each other to try to overcome the Commission's proposals.

I support Senator MacSharry in regard to the ongoing cuts in the health area. One issue I find alarming and which I have experienced in my constituency concerns the letters individuals are receiving in respect of medical card reviews. If the proposals go ahead, some 70,000 people will lose their medical cards. In other words, the equivalent of the number of people it takes to fill Croke Park aged over 65, will lose their medical cards. This is a huge number. If there was an all-Ireland in Croke Park, we would be talking about the massive crowd. The equivalent of that massive crowd will lose their medical cards as a result of the assessments taking place currently.

There are massive difficulties across the health system and across various tiers within the health sector. I would love to have a debate on hospital funding, the role of consultants and, most important, the medical card issue. I fully support our health spokesperson, Senator MacSharry, who has been keeping this issue to the fore.