Caithfidh mé labhairt ar dhá cheist, is iad sin, na cuótaí agus a dtionchar eacnamaíocha cois cósta; agus ceannas, údarás agus cumhacht na hÉireann thar ár bhfarraigí féinig. Tá breis agus 90% dár gcríoch mar Stát suite ar an bhfarraige ach is fíorbheag an smacht atá againn ar na héisc a bhaintear aisti. Thar na blianta, faoi rialacha an Chomhbheartais Iascaigh, tá an ceart sin tógtha uainn de réir a chéile. Tá tíortha eile ag baint tairbhe as uiscí na hÉireann, agus ní tíortha de chuid an Aontais Eorpaigh iad uile. Is í an fhírinne lom ná go bhfágtar ár n-iascairí féin ar an imeall i gcónaí. Is léir ón méid atá tarlaithe anseo gur beag meáchan atá ag guth na hÉireann nuair a thagann brú idirnáisiúnta i gceist. Ní ceist theicniúil amháin í seo; is ceist pholaitiúil í. Is léir arís eile nach bhfuil ceannas ceart againn ar ár n-acmhainní nádúrtha féin. Is iad pobail bheaga cois cósta a íocann an praghas. Tá tionchar ar leith ag na cinntí seo ar ár gceantair Ghaeltachta. I go leor de na ceantair sin, is iad na hiascairí cnámh droma an gheilleagair áitiúla. Beidh drochthionchar eacnamaíocha ag na cinntí seo agus níl roghanna fostaíochta eile ar fáil go héasca in an-chuid de na ceantair seo. Nuair a laghdaítear cuótaí, ní chailltear ioncam amháin; cailltear daoine óga agus teaghlaigh agus laghdaítear an Ghaeilge mar theanga phobail. Is ceist teanga agus chultúir í seo chomh maith le ceist eacnamaíocha. Tá staitisticí soiléire ann a thugann léargas air seo. Tá cuid mhór de na ceantair Ghaeltachta i measc na gceantar is leochailí ó thaobh dífhostaíochta agus imirce de. Nuair a imíonn an obair ón bhfarraige, leanann an imirce í. Is bagairt dhíreach d'inbhuanaitheacht na Gaeltachta í seo. Ní féidir leis an Rialtas a rá go bhfuil sé ag tacú leis an nGaelainn agus é ag glacadh le beartas a scriosann bunús eacnamaíochta na gceantar sin ag an am céanna. Tá sé ráite go soiléir ag na heagraíochtaí iascaigh go bhfuil teip ar struchtúr an Chomhbeartais Iascaigh. Tá sé sin ráite againn sa choiste agus ag mo chomhghleacaí, an Teachta Mac Lochlainn, chomh maith. Aontaím leis an méid atá ráite ag na heagrais iascaigh ach téim céim níos faide; is ceist cheannais í seo. Muna bhfuil an chumhacht againn ár n-acmhainní a chosaint, beimid i gcónaí ag plé leis na hiarmhairtí céanna, is iad sin, laghdaithe, géarchéimeanna agus pobail á bhfágáil ar lár. Caithfimid seasamh polaitiúil a ghlacadh ar son na tíre. Beidh muidne ar an taobh seo ag tacú leis an Aire Stáit má dhéanann sé amhlaidh. Caithfear a rá go soiléir nach féidir leis an bpobal cósta leanúint ar aghaidh ag íoc as easpa smachta agus cothromais ar leibhéal na hEorpa. Tá athrú treo iomlán ag teastáil anois, agus tá sé i bhfad thar am. The outcome of the recent Common Fisheries Policy negotiations represents one of the most severe shocks, if not the most severe shock, the Irish fishing industry has faced in its existence. It was not a sudden collapse, it was the final shove in a long process of decline that Government parties managed, excused and normalised. What was already fragile has now been pushed dangerously close to a point of no return. That is the responsibility of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and successive administrations. We acknowledge the scientific advice is stark, with proposed reductions around 70% for mackerel, deep cuts to blue whiting and significant reductions across other North Atlantic species and prawns in the Irish Sea. Sinn Féin accepts science must guide fisheries management, there is no dispute over that, but stock sustainability matters. Justice and fairness also matter and science does not answer the political questions at the heart of this particular crisis. Who is breaking the rules, who is overfishing shared stocks and why is it always Irish fishermen and Ireland's coastal communities who are expected to pay the price? The Minister of State said at the committee meeting yesterday, and I agreed with him, that our waters cannot sustain the level of fishing and overfishing being undertaken for years by the EU fishing fleet. That is correct and we agree; there is no dispute there. However, it can definitely sustain the fishing effort of Irish fishing boats. That is where the priority must be and where the injustice in all this lies. Irish fishermen are complying with the rules and suffering the consequences. Meanwhile, states including the Netherlands, Germany, France and Poland coalesce to protect their own interests and, as we just heard from Deputy Mac Lochlainn, the interests of a very small number of multinational corporations that play hard and fast with the rules, our democracies and in many cases, the rule of law. They vote down safeguards for Ireland and consolidate their advantages in the interests of those few corporations. Deputy Mac Lochlainn has already used parliamentary privilege to name those Dutch corporations and the extraordinary control they exercise over Irish fishing opportunities, over the entire EU process and, if we are being honest, over negotiations between EU and third countries where they also have economic presences. This is something which cuts to the core of our democracy and European democracy. There are not many people in the Chamber but it should send a chill down the spine of everybody who has any interest in the environment, the rule of law, democracy or fairness. This Government has allowed Irish sovereign natural resources to be effectively gifted, not even by us in Ireland and Irish people but by foreign Governments, that are there for our generation and future generations to private corporations. It is not partnership and the economy, it is an abdication of responsibility and is an affront to our sovereignty as a nation. The scale of damage is already clear, with a projected loss of 57,000 tonnes of quota in 2026 and an economic hit of up to €200 million per year. There are various ways to quantify the monetary value of this but there are estimates that put this at a fifth of a billion. More than 2,300 jobs are on the line as we face into Christmas and that is not lost on anyone in any coastal community in Ireland. There are families now wondering - skippers and boat owners - how they are going to meet the December repayments on their boats. There are crews scared they will lose income but really, they do not know if they will be fishing or will have a berth on a boat come January. Processing plants are facing closure. There is an idea that we maybe can prevail upon some of these foreign registered trawlers and fishing operations to land their catch here. They will not because they know we have the most extreme sea fisheries protection regime and they can effectively get off scot-free in their own home ports. They are not going to be coming here. Should we really be begging for a scrap from the table? Through all this, and it is not a criticism that lands on the lap of the Minister of State or that of the Minister, Deputy Heydon, but the absence of leadership from the Taoiseach and Tánaiste has been glaring and staggering. In other member states, heads of Government intervened directly when national interests were threatened and that leadership was not evident here. As Chair of the Oireachtas Committee on Fisheries and Maritime Affairs, I said this and the committee looked for that. I said it to the Taoiseach last Thursday and asked him to pick up a phone but I would say he did not lift his hand to do anything to support the Minister of State and to have his back in these negotiations and to support, more importantly, our coastal communities. Ireland has been treated as a soft touch in this and effectively, this Government - Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Lowry Independents - have allowed it to happen. States that describe themselves as partners and say all the nice things to us about solidarity and the European Union, that we are partners and member states and need to relook at our neutrality and step together at European level, voted against us. They gutted us and the Minister of State at these negotiations. They blocked the Hague preferences and stripped away the only modest protection designed to prevent exactly this kind of shock. That is calculated insult heaped on existing injury and demands a response; not quiet disappointment, not expressions of concern and not more hand-wringing. I call for an immediate diplomatic and political response to signal Ireland's disgust on how we have been treated as a sovereign nation. That means formal diplomatic démarche. It means calling in the ambassadors of states that have actively undermined Irish fisheries and sovereignty. It means making clear access to Irish waters cannot continue as if nothing has happened. There can be no more business as usual and there are many avenues open to the Minister of State and to this Government, should they choose to go down them, that are within the bounds of the law and which exert economic and political pressure on our so-called partner countries. Ireland will shortly hold the Presidency of the European Union, which must be used deliberately to untangle and undo this injustice; not to manage it or kick it to touch but to reverse it. At European level, Ireland must reopen discussions with a clear demand for fair burden sharing and the restoration of protections for highly dependent member states such as Ireland. That requires political will from the current Taoiseach. Ultimately, this comes down to political choice. The CFP must be judged not just on stock levels but on fairness and solidarity and at present it is failing on all of that. Our fishing communities have observed decades of loss. They have been patient and have played by the rules. Their anger, despair and disappointment is justified. The injury is real, the insult is undeniable and what happens next will tell us whether this Government is prepared to stand up for this country or whether it is content to let another vital sector slide towards a fatal end.

Sentiment score: -0.05