Noel O'Donovan (Fine Gael)

I want to raise the issue of the serious challenges facing the fishing community. On Saturday I spent some time in Castletownbere with a friend of the Cathaoirleach's, and a former Deputy, Noel Harrington. We engaged with many in the fishing community. To say that there is a sense of shock and fear about what lies on the horizon is an understatement.

We Senators speak passionately in this Chamber on issues and inequality as we see it in society on the national and international stage. The fishing community is sick to death of what it has had to face in generations and years gone by and this needs to be rectified. I speak quite frequently about our farming community and putting on the green jersey, as we do to hold derogation. It is time that we stand up at a national level and fight for our fishing community on an international level.We know full well the quotas and the stock that we have around our coast, but our quotas and what we can catch is not reflected in what we are given. I was talking to a fisherman over the weekend. He gave the figures quite rightly. Before Brexit, he was allowed to catch 600 tonnes of mackerel. After Brexit, this was reduced to 263 tonnes. This will be down to 78 tonnes if the proposed cuts come in. Fishing communities are going to be wiped out across west Cork - in Castletownbere, Baltimore, Unionhall and Kinsale. We can forget about a fishing community in Ireland. There have been positive lights in the programme for Government. We have a Minister of State with responsibility for fisheries. However, we now need to stand up at an EU level. I commend my colleague, Senator Manus Boyle, for the work he has put in to fight for the fishing community. We now need to see action at an EU level and a national level. There will not be a fishing community unless we see improvements and proper fair access to quotas.

I ask for a proper debate in this Chamber with the Minister of State. We need a conversation quite urgently on it.