I recognise in the Gallery the representatives of the sector, including the Irish Fish Producers Organisation, IFPO; the Irish South and East Fish Producers Organisation, ISEFPO; and the Irish Fish Processors and Exporters Association, IFPEA. They are here this evening and that is significant. They are extremely concerned. They spent most of last week in Brussels. They were there when the Minister of State met with them prior to the Council and during the Council to brief them fully. I want to clear up this one. As a result of the presentation by the Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority, SFPA, at the Joint Committee on Fisheries and Maritime Affairs a few weeks ago, I felt it necessary to table a question to the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine. It would have been dealt with in the office of the Minister of State with responsibility for the marine, Deputy Dooley. I asked about the plans to review the Sea-Fisheries and Maritime Jurisdiction Act 2006 in view of the appearance of the SFPA before the joint committee. I wanted an answer to my question about the review or overhaul of the Act. The reply I received did not deal with the question. Instead, it told me everything I already knew about the SFPA. I ask the Minister of State to insist that his staff in the Department deal with the question that is asked. I will leave it at that. This has been a very black week. It is going to be a black year for the Irish fishing sector in 2026 with the drastic reduction in the quotas of demersal and pelagic fish. Why are we in this position? Of course there is overfishing. There is no overfishing by this country. Having been involved in fisheries in the processing sector, as Minister of State and as a TD for Donegal, I can put my hand on my heart and say I have never witnessed any quantity of blackfish being landed. The industry knows that if it lands blackfish, it reduces the value of all the other fish, so it is careful enough to ensure that does not happen. As others have pointed out, those who are responsible for this now are Norway, Iceland, the Faroe Islands and the United Kingdom. We sat in this Chamber and listened attentively to Michel Barnier when he spoke about Brexit and emphasised the importance of Ireland remaining in the EU and the loss to the UK of not remaining in the EU. It may have been a loss generally to the UK, but it is a major advantage to its fishing sector that it is now outside of the EU. The result of that is fish valued at hundreds of thousands of euro. When I met the former Commissioner in the dining room here afterwards, I put it to him that I was extremely concerned for the future of this sector. He told me, in his capacity as the chief negotiator between Europe and the UK, I could be absolutely sure that fish and trade would be inextricably linked, and fish would be protected. I was naive enough, even then, to believe the man. He obviously had a French hat on rather than the European hat of someone working in the interest of all the European countries. I listened to my Donegal colleague, Deputy Mac Lochlainn, naming a number of companies in Europe. I took the opportunity to ring the office of Parlevliet in Holland - I have had the number for a long time - and I said I wanted to speak to them. They came back to me very quickly and gave me an email address. I will be expressing my views. They are in business, which means they are out to look after their own interests. I take the view that this is a monopoly. There should be some European commission that could look at how a company from a certain country can go into the countries at the other end of Europe - Poland and elsewhere - and have a quota that is much greater than that of many of large European states. There is a monopoly, whether it be Parlevliet, Van der Plas or Van der Zwan, all of which I knew in a former life. There is a misconception about the Hague preferences, which were first introduced in 1976. We remember that they had to be invoked over the years, but that was only since 1988. The Hague preferences were included in the total allowed and the quotas for Ireland until 1988. After that, they had to be invoked. I recall in 2004 and 2006 having to travel to the UK in advance of Council meetings to prevail upon Ben Bradshaw, who had the fisheries portfolio at that time and with whom I had a good relationship. Things have changed so much since then. We are having difficulties with foreign vessels coming into this country. I want to demonstrate and I want the Minister of State to demonstrate to our European colleagues that Ireland takes its fishing seriously and takes conservation seriously. The Government needs to make it clear that no common control plan will be renewed for Belgium or France in 2026. They will have to weigh each and every fish on the piers and at the harbours in the same way our people have to. It is a Common Fisheries Policy. I ask the Minister of State to direct as policy that all factory vessels fishing in our waters will be subject to the same CCTV recording as Irish vessels. When our fish are weighed, they are largely weighed in 10 kg boxes or blocks. They should be weighed under the same regulations on those vessels but what are those fishers doing? They are putting in 22 or 23 boxes so, instead of landing of 100%, they are landing 110% or 120%. It is not good enough. They are circumventing EU rules. We must ensure there are CCTV cameras on those vessels as well and that we have access to them. It should be remembered that, as of 1 January next, all of the records in our factories have to be maintained for a period of six months. As a matter of policy, Ireland must stop swapping our kilowatt days to other countries, especially in the whitefish segment. This allows those countries to increase their fishing efforts in our waters. A national policy needs to be put in place that provides better monitoring and oversight of Belgian beamers fishing in the Irish sea and Dutch factory ships fishing scad, horse mackerel, off the west coast. These vessels are recording zero bycatches. That is bizarre. How can they be recording that? These are the countries that are overfishing. Ireland needs to progress more conservation of areas, including the closure of nephrops grounds during spawning periods. A closure for the horse mackerel spawning period needs to be considered to preserve stocks. When it comes to issues affecting fish stocks, we are not the culprits. As I referred to at the start, I am disappointed. Was it a question of efficiency or a deliberate decision to ignore the question I asked? I believe I speak for all of my colleagues on the fisheries committee when I say there should be a full and complete reform of the SFPA. That is urgently required. What is a minor offence in Europe is a criminal offence here. When I came back into this House again in 2016, I saw a statutory instrument affecting penalty points being laid before the House. I will not go into the detail but I pioneered the overturning of that instrument, a first in the history of this State and of this House. I got that through this House. Of course, my back was not out the door when my own party went into government in 2020. I will speak about one of the first things that was done. The file was presented to two Ministers, who were unfortunately only in place for a short time. I refer to Barry Cowen and the Minister, Deputy Dara Calleary. They did not deal with it. They wanted to find a political solution. However, the leader of my party, who was acting as Minister for fisheries in the intervening period, had the file put under his nose and signed it, overturning the earlier decision. I do not know who will be here the longest but I doubt whoever it is will ever see a statutory instrument being overturned in the way I pioneered. What was done was wrong and I cannot blame anyone but those in my party. We need to set up a new office to engage with the European Commission. I recommend that to the Minister of State. The Minister of State, Deputy Dooley, referred to the establishment of a working group. I know he worked very hard and made tremendous efforts. He met various ministers in Europe and contacted others. However, he was not successful. Those are the very same people who should be seen to help the smaller countries but they are taking advantage of the oceans off the coast of Ireland. The Minister of State is setting up a working group under the auspices of Food Vision 2030 to develop a framework of supports. As we have said all along, it is not funding we need but fish. We are now in a dire situation. All of those in the industry, whether producers, processors or those working in the factories, need to be represented. I also recommended that the Minister of State should get the banks involved, if possible. The banks must now freeze any repayments that fishermen are unable to pay. These will build up with interest and the banks have a duty to assist. They did enough damage over the years in making money available to those who possibly should not have got it in other sectors. The Minister of State should do that. I am glad to hear that he has recommended the appointment of a chairman and that all of the sectors will be involved. Those who are working in the factories should also be involved in this. I will give the Minister of State the facts. As a result of the Brexit deal, we lost 26% of the value of our quotas overnight in December 2020. I made reference to Michel Barnier, who was largely responsible for that, but I do not blame him alone. I blame the Government of the day and the Ministers of that time, whether the Minister for Foreign Affairs or the Minister for the marine. They should never have allowed that to happen. They did it in the interests of mother Ireland but, for the second or perhaps umpteenth time, they threw the fishing sector under the bus. We entered the European Union in 1973. Of course, over the years, we have had major benefits as a result, culminating in the opening of a market of over 500 million people for the export of our goods and services, but who paid the price? The fishing industry paid the price then and it is now paying the price once more. There is a Council meeting tomorrow. I know it is all arranged in advance but, as I have said before, even though the agenda has been set, when the Taoiseach goes to Brussels tomorrow, he should raise this issue with his counterparts from all of the European states under any other business. That would indicate the importance of the matter. I have also tabled a question to the Taoiseach to find out who he contacted prior to the decision on fisheries because he did say that he would make efforts to make contact. I know what the Minister of State, Deputy Dooley, has done. I will get a reply to a parliamentary question to him but I am also awaiting a reply from the Taoiseach as to whom he contacted. Did he contact the Danes, who hold the Presidency? What other countries did he contact? If that had happened, they may have taken a different attitude. It is very unfair that a blocking minority of a few of the larger countries can block us from getting the Hague preferences. They have been in place since 1976 and never had to be invoked because, from 1976 to 1988, they were always included in the TAC. That was also the case from 1988 onwards. As I have said, I had experience of that in the past. Some will say that we will have the Presidency next year and that we will review the Common Fisheries Policy. We can talk about reviews but reviews will end up in the same percentage of the cake going to the various countries involved. The Minister of State mentioned something. I hope he will put it on the table. We should try it. However, I have seen reviews, including mid-term reviews, come and go without any iota of change being made. Tá áthas orm an deis seo a fháil chun an cheist thábhachtach seo a phlé, cé gur phléigh muid í i gcoiste na n-iascach ag tús na seachtaine. Beidh muidne ag cur béime ar an cheist seo thar ceann thionscal na hiascaireachta, na n-iascairí, na monarchana, na ndaoine atá ag obair sna monarchana agus na ndaoine eile atá ag brath ar thionscal na hiascaireachta. Beimid ag coinneáil súil ghéar ar an Aire Stáit, an Teachta Timmy Dooley, agus ag tabhairt lán-tacaíochta dó agus é ag déanamh a dhícheall thar ceann an tionscail seo.

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