Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The principle those of us on this side of the House are seeking is for the Minister to engage in meaningful dialogue to attempt to address the concerns of these people. The Bill will be before the Dáil on Thursday. I know the Minister wants to get this legislation through. I think there are many positives around the legislation. We want to reinstate access for Irish boats of a certain size into Irish waters in a managed way – we are agreed on that point. However, there are still some concerns among two important stakeholders. I know the Minister will respect them. I appeal to the Minister to engage in the next 24 hours. Other parties will be making this request of the Minister. I am going to say it again: there is a man on hunger strike. I am appealing to the Minister's humanity in exceptional circumstances. I am not calling this a veto. All I am asking is that the Minister will hear what they have to say. I am not asking for vetoes. I am asking the Minister to hear what they have to say in the interests of humanity to see if we can convince Mr. Kelly of grounds not to proceed. He is a highly determined man, more than most people I have ever met in my life.