At the outset, I acknowledge the tremendous work the Minister of State is putting into this area at a very difficult time. He has visited every single fishing community at this stage. He is working night and day on this, meeting all the people involved in the industry, visiting fishing communities, meeting fishermen and fisherwomen, and owners of processing plants which export our fish and shellfish all over the globe. This is an extremely difficult time. The Minister of State has inherited a problem. The industry has suffered serious and savage cuts, going back to when we joined the EU, more recently during Brexit and with the 70% cut in our mackerel quota and 41% cut in our blue whiting quota. We have to tackle the issue of Norway, the UK, the Faroe Islands and Iceland. It is fair to say they are actually laughing at us and getting away with blue murder, which we call it in Kerry. We need to contact the Commission and the European Court of Human Rights with regard to this serious matter. Our fishing communities are going to be completely wiped out if we do not act now. It is important to preserve and rebuild our stocks, but it is also important to protect the livelihoods of all those employed in the fishing industry. We are, it is fair to say, a small island surrounded by water. We are surrounded by some of the very best fishing waters. The Minister of State's heart is in the right place. I know he is spending more than 24-7 at this. He has been to Europe and Brussels at high-powered meetings. We have to keep at this in order to try to reverse what is happening. We need to ensure a future for all those involved in this area. I know that the Minister of State will do his best, as will the senior Minister and the Taoiseach, in regard to this matter. I am member of the joint fisheries and maritime committee. It is disappointing that on an almost weekly basis when the Dáil is sitting we are talking about the difficulties being faced by those involved in the industry. It is all very well to provide compensation, but I think we need to do more. Ultimately, fishermen want to fish. There is no real need to encourage the Minister of State in this regard, because I know he will do his best. However, I ask him to do everything he can to try to secure the futures of Irish fishermen and everyone else involved in the sector. That is what this is all about. It is a difficult job. The Minister of State is relatively new to the job. He has only being doing it for 13 or 14 months. I wish him well in his efforts. If there is anything we can do, we should all fight together to do it. I am not an expert on the European Court of Human Rights, but would it be worth our while taking a case before that court? We should leave no stone unturned when it comes to this matter. We will support the Minister of State in every way we can. I thank him for his work to date.

Sentiment score: 0.05