Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State will be aware that the British Secretary of State, Mr. James Brokenshire, in response to a parliamentary question recently asserted that the whole of Lough Foyle was within the UK. Eighteen years after the Good Friday Agreement, it is unacceptable for language that is so clearly arrogant and provocative to be used. It flies in the face of the establishment of the Loughs Agency, which develops and manages the fisheries and the potential of Lough Foyle and Carlingford Lough. Carlingford's status has been resolved and there is a North-South division, but why has it taken all these years to resolve how we share Lough Foyle? Why must we still deal with such pronouncements?

We are post-Brexit and the British Tories have stated their wish to gain control over all their waters. If that includes Lough Foyle, as they assert, there will be a major problem for its fishing and tourism. We need to deal with this issue urgently. It has not been resolved because the British Government regards Lough Foyle as a strategically important naval and military point. It has ongoing operations in the area. Our Government must explain what it has done to try to resolve the situation and who is at fault. I believe that the British Government is at fault.

This issue has been ongoing for years. I have been raising this matter in all of my time in the Houses. The Loughs Agency is also raising the matter. Under the Good Friday Agreement, it is tasked with managing the lough's resources. It wants the two Governments to resolve the ownership question so that it can achieve its potential in partnership with those who fish on the lough and those who utilise it for tourism. It is a beautiful location with real potential, if only we could resolve the ownership issues.