Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I would like to raise three issues today. The first issue relates to Stormont and the looming deadline for power sharing with the DUP, principally the DUP and Sinn Féin. Second, I wish to refer to the Irish seafood sector, particularly because Seafest 2017 will be launched tonight. The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine will host a special conference in the Radisson Hotel in Galway tomorrow morning. I shall attend the conference and I have no doubt that other Senators will also attend. Third, I want to briefly talk about the Intoxicating Liquor (Amendment) Bill 2017.

I shall kick off by discussing the Irish seafood export market. I ask the Leader to organise statements on the Irish seafood exports strategy. The Irish seafood industry is worth over a phenomenal €1 billion annually; I got the figure from the Department yesterday. Also, approximately 2,000 registered commercial sea fishing vessels traverse Irish waters and there are 161 seafood processing countries within Ireland. All of that proves it is a huge sector. The top five countries that Ireland exports fish to are Nigeria, France, the UK, Spain and Italy. There is a need for us to home in on the seafood export strategy so I ask the Leader to arrange a debate or statements on the subject.

As we all know, the deadline for crucial talks on Stormont is tomorrow. There are issues with the Irish Sign Language, equality issues in terms of same-sex marriages and other stumbling blocks. There is also the issue of having a bill of rights for the people of Northern Ireland. I hope that all of the issues can be overcome. They are important issues for us in the South and, equally, they should important for us in the North of Ireland. I wish all parties every success with the talks. A successful outcome is in everyone's interest, in particular the island of Ireland's interests.

Finally, I wish to discuss the Intoxicating Liquor (Amendment) Bill 2017. My colleague, Senator Billy Lawless, has been very proactive in terms of the Bill and has asked me to raise the matter yet again. I know there was an oversight yesterday in the schedule. I ask the Leader to confirm what Stage the Bill has reached and when the amendments will be published.