Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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20. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if fisheries will be a priority for the Government in view of the recent submissions and presentations to the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine on the impact of Brexit on fisheries; the action the Government has taken to date in terms of highlighting the importance of fisheries with all of the other member states; if this matter was on the agenda for the meeting with the Spanish Prime Minister when An Taoiseach met him recently; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4849/17]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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Brexit is obviously foremost in our minds and in Government it is very much a priority. It poses enormous challenges for the Irish agri-food sector as a whole including the fisheries sector. However, potentially, depending on what the UK seeks to do, there are additional and unique challenges for our fishing industry.

Fish stocks are a shared resource managed under the Common Fisheries Policy of the European Union. Nearly all of the main commercial stocks upon which the Irish fisheries sector is reliant are shared to some degree with the UK. In addition, many of our traditional fishing grounds lie within UK waters. Any change to the existing situation could have very serious negative consequences for our fleets.

My Department, together with its agencies and stakeholders, has been considering all of the potential impacts, looking at the areas where the greatest risks will arise and on which we will need to focus when the negotiations begin. Ensuring that our fishing interests are reflected in the overall EU negotiating position will be a key priority.

I have established a dedicated Brexit unit in my Department, and a consultative committee of stakeholders has been convened in order to ensure a full exchange of information as negotiations proceed. My Department also organised a dedicated Civic Dialogue on the Impact of Brexit for the Seafood Sector which was held yesterday.

This was an excellent and well attended engagement dealing with all of the potential issues and we will continue to have an ongoing dialogue with key stakeholders.

My officials are in constant contact with their counterparts in the European Commission and just last week met with the Director General of Fisheries to impress upon him Ireland’s key interests in the upcoming negotiations.

I will remain in close contact with fisheries stakeholders as the issues develop and work with them and my fellow fisheries Ministers in the EU to ensure that we are all fully prepared for what are likely to be extremely complex negotiations.

While fisheries was not specifically on the agenda for the Taoiseach’s recent meeting with Prime Minister Rajoy, the excellent bi-lateral relationship we hold with Spain was discussed and it was agreed that we will continue to work closely together in the coming period. The Taoiseach was pleased to have Prime Minister Rajoy's assurance that we share the objective of constructive negotiations towards a close future relationship between the EU and the UK.