The EU has failed Ireland's fishing industry repeatedly and we are once more paying the price for the chronic overfishing of shared stocks by big boats from third countries. The recent EU fisheries deal from Brussels is a betrayal of the fishing industry and has been described as catastrophic. We are talking about 2,300 community jobs in coastal communities, including in Arklow and Courtown, being in immediate danger. The Seafood Ireland Alliance has estimated a loss of €94 million to our fishing industry, with wider economic impacts reaching up to €200 million by next year. We need a radical reset of the meek approach of the Government. The Taoiseach and the Tánaiste must urgently intervene to make it clear Ireland will not stand for this. We need to know whether the Government, for once, will stand up for Ireland and passionately represent the interests of Ireland in the EU, not the other way around of slavishly representing the EU's interests in Ireland. We are an island and a seafaring nation, with our people travelling as far away as Iceland for more than 1,000 years. Following last Saturday's Brussels sellout, this is the darkest hour for the Irish fishing industry. I have often referred in this Chamber to Arklow fisherman CJ Gaffney and his family. Their situation typifies the Government's do-nothing approach. A family and their livelihood are destroyed and this has been going on for 16 years. There was repeated advice that there are funds available to compensate them but that the Government must draw them down. Seven successive Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil Governments have been repeatedly requested to do so but, it seems, they simply did not want to draw down the funds. One might ask why. It would cost the Government nothing to do so. Is it because it might highlight the lack of interest of the previous seven Governments and previous Ministers? I do not know. I will leave that for others to decide. I am looking across at the bronze statues of people I assume we are supposed to be honouring in this Chamber. I see Cathal Brugha in front of me, Pádraig Pearse trasna anseo, Tom Clarke trasna ansin agus ar an taobh eile uaimse, James Connolly. I wonder what they would think of an approach that always seems to be about selling Ireland short or selling it out. Ceapaim go mbeadh náire orthu.

Sentiment score: -0.01