Tim Lombard (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Absolutely. It was a shame I was not there.

I raise the issue of the Brexit negotiations. We are two months away from the impending date of Brexit and one of the biggest issues that still has to be resolved is that of the fishing industry and how it will deal with whatever the outcome of Brexit will be.One of the most important issues yet to be resolved is that of the fishing industry and how it will deal with whatever the outcome of the Brexit negotiations may be. Many rural and coastal communities from Kerry all the way up the west coast will be deeply affected by the outcome of the negotiations. This is an enormously important issue for us as an island nation. Our fishing industry is one which successive Governments have supported but many feel that we have not supported it enough. That is a big issue for us as a community and a society and probably as a political entity. We must determine the best way to work with the fishing industry in these troublesome months, as well as in the years ahead. It would be appropriate to have a debate in this Chamber on these issues with the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine. There is a great fear in the fishing community that it will be left behind and will be the sacrificial lamb in the Brexit negotiations. We need to bring clarity and confidence to the industry, which is going through a troubling time at the moment. The debate I seek will enable us to air the important issues and bring the key ones to the fore. It will also provide the Minister with an opportunity to update us on what will happen in the next seven and a half weeks. If things do not go well for the fishing industry over the next few weeks, the repercussions for rural Ireland will be immense. We must support our fishing industry and people in rural Ireland and the debate I seek would play a significant part in that. I ask the Leader to invite the Minister to the House next week to provide clarity on the future for our fishing industry and to ease the genuine worries of our fishing communities.