Tá an Rialtas tar éis cliseadh arís is arís eile ar phobail chósta agus ar thionscadail iascaireachta na hÉireann. Léiríonn an géilleadh seo go bhfuil ganntanas iomlán suime ag Fianna Fáil agus Fine Gael maidir le saolta agus slí beatha na n-iascairí. Níor sheas siad suas dóibh riamh agus níl siad ag seasamh suas dóibh anois. Beagnach dhá bhliain ó shín, d’ardaigh mé cás Mhuireann Kavanagh díreach leis an Taoiseach sa Seomra seo. Ní raibh cás riamh chomh soiléir idir cad atá ceart agus mícheart. Is girseach óg í Muireann Kavanagh atá 16 bliain d’aois arb as Árainn Mhór di, oileán amach ar chósta Dhún na nGall. Ba iascaire a bhí ina hathair, ina seanathair agus ina sin-seanathair, agus bíonn Muireann ag iascaireacht fosta. Gabhann sí mangaigh le duán agus dorú. Is é seo an leagan is inbhuanaithe iascaireachta atá ann ach dúirt an Rialtas léi go riabh a cuid iascaireachta in éadan an dlí. Tá uirthi amharc amach ón seomra leapa in oileán Árainn Mhór ar na longa móra as tíortha eile agus iad ag déanamh scrios ar an chothromaíocht atá tar éis na pobail chósta i dTír Chonaill agus ar fud an Stáit seo a chothú ar feadh na mílte bliain. Tá an cuma ar na trálaeir móra seo ar nós gur cathracha beaga iad, i bhfad níos mó ná na bailte agus na sráidbhailte ar chósta Dhún na nGall. Nuair nach raibh an Rialtas in ann an éagóir in éadan Mhuireann Kavanagh a fheiceáil, ba léir nach mbeadh siad chun seasamh suas di agus dá pobal choíche. This Government has failed coastal communities and the fishing industry. The latest capitulation is symptomatic of a complete lack of interest from Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael in the way of life and the livelilhoods of fishermen and fisherwomen up and down this country. They have never stood up for them and that is the fact. Almost two years ago I stood here and directly put to the Taoiseach the case of young Muireann Kavanagh. Never has there been such a clear case of right and wrong. She is a 16-year-old girl from Arranmore island off the coast of Donegal. Her father, grandfather and great-grandfather were fishermen and Muireann also fishes. She catches pollock with hook and line, the most sustainable way of fishing, but she was told then by the Government that her fishing was illegal. She was forced to watch from her bedroom in Arranmore Island the foreign factory ships destroying the balance that has sustained that coastal community and coastal communities right across the State, in Donegal and elsewhere, for thousands of years. These monster ships look like small cities. They dwarf the towns and villages along the coast of Donegal. A Government that could not see the injustice done to Muireann Kavanagh was never going to stand up for communities like hers. She wanted a future on this island but that future had been denied her. When I raised this with the Taoiseach at the time he accused me of dishonesty and spin. He said that it was for scientific reasons that Muireann could not fish for pollock with a hook and line. The problem is that there are always winners and losers here. Muireann was the loser and the factory ships were the winners, and in this case here it is the factory ships that are winners, and Irish fishing and coastal communities are the losers. They have again been thrown to the wolves by this Government. This system is completely rigged, and if Muireann Kavanagh is a problem, then the Government really does not know and does not have fishing communities backs. My colleague, Deputy Mac Lochlainn, outlined blow by blow, the corporate interests and powerful lobbies that are at the heart of Europe, and a compliant Irish Government nodding along. For anyone from a coastal community in Ireland it comes as no surprise that the Government has failed to stand up for them again but the scale of this failure cannot be overstated this time. This is not minor. The outcome of the most recent EU fisheries Council is catastrophic. The fishing quotas agreement is a dark day for the Irish fishing communities and we are talking about jobs that are going to be lost. We are talking about livelilhoods that are on the line. We are now seeing fishing vessels that could be at sea for less than ten days a year and factories that worked for five months a year down to two to three weeks. How can the Government or any Minister not know what this means and stand up for them? This means livelilhoods destroyed. It is a hammer blow for coastal communities - communities right along Donegal, from Greencastle down to Killybegs. Jobs are going to be lost. The Common Fisheries Policy, CFP, has been undermined again and again by big businesses allowed to pursue their interests unchecked. As Deputy McGuinness said, this is not the time to roll over. This is the time to stand up. This is the time to have fishing communities backs. This is the time to stand up for our sovereignty and our rights. This is the time for the Taoiseach to finally show up and make his voice heard on this issue.

Sentiment score: -0.09