I appreciate the opportunity to address the House on what is an important matter. I thank the Deputies for seeking the opportunity for statements on fishing opportunities in 2026. I welcome the timely opportunity to discuss the concerns affecting the fisheries and seafood sector. I welcome the contributions of so many at the Oireachtas Committee on Fisheries and Maritime Affairs and look forward to continued engagement today. I wish to reassure the Dáil that as Minister of State with responsibility for fisheries and the marine, I recognise the importance of maintaining a vibrant fishing sector both for the communities that rely on it and the wider economy. Importantly, I also recognise that these same coastal communities are feeling dismay and despair at the outcome of the AGRIFISH Council negotiations in Brussels last week. The despair is twofold. The first concerns the actualisation of the total allowable catch, TAC, being set at the headline ICES advice by the EU, particularly the resultant quotas for pelagic stocks, while the second concerns the fact that Ireland’s invocation of the Hague preferences, which are a key element of our relative stability, was blocked by a group of larger member states led by France and Germany, involving the Netherlands and aided by Poland. The conclusions reached in Brussels are a culmination of bilateral and trilateral negotiations by the EU with third countries. This was followed by the internal EU matters of the Baltic, western Mediterranean and the EU main TAC and quota regulation, which covers stocks in the Atlantic, the North Sea and adjacent waters and includes the fish stocks of relevance to Ireland. Most of the stocks covered by this regulation are shared with third countries - predominantly the UK and Norway. There are only two stocks for which Ireland has quota that are autonomous Union stocks. These are sole and plaice in a location referred to as 7bc, which is off Ireland's west coast. The TAC for these stocks have been set at 15 tonnes annually for 2024, 2025 and 2026 in line with ICES advice and, therefore, were not under consideration in this proposal, which came to a conclusion early last Saturday morning. It is clear that the outcomes of this year’s December AGRIFISH Council will result in severely reduced fishing opportunities for 2026. The scientific advice upon which the council’s decisions were based reflects the impact of overfishing of the mackerel stock by certain third countries. The advised 70% reduction in the total allowable catch for mackerel is compounded by a 41% reduction in blue whiting, a 22% reduction in boarfish and further reductions in nephrops or Dublin Bay prawns as they are known. We were aware of these concerns for some time as were many in this House because we had a discussion here and at the Joint Committee on Fisheries and Maritime Affairs about this impending scientific advice but it was effectively crystallised at the weekend and, therefore, has created significant shock in the communities that are most affected by and depend so much fishing in the first instance, the processing sector and all the supply chains that are very much part of the industry. Ireland’s fishing opportunities for 2026 amount to approximately over 120,000 tonnes with an estimated first-sale value of €205 million. This represents a decrease of one third - €100 million to €105 million - on the estimated value of the 2025 quota. These figures reflect quota outcomes for Ireland across the main pelagic, demersal and nephrops stocks for 2026. As a result, while the overall scale of opportunity remains substantial, the distribution of quota across key stocks presents ongoing challenges for fleet planning, processing throughput and coastal communities that are highly dependent on specific fisheries. It is important that we do not focus our ire on the scientific advice here. The advice is merely reflecting years of overfishing by other countries and we, the EU and specifically Ireland are suffering the consequences. The question arises as to what we are going to do about it. Ireland has consistently called for action against those countries that over fish mackerel. Given that Ireland holds the largest share of EU quota for mackerel in the western waters area, the devastating impact of the decline in this stock will be acutely felt by both the catching and processing sectors. On behalf of the Government, I have called for the EU to send a clear message that actions that threaten the sustainability of our shared stocks are not acceptable. At the recent AGRIFISH Council, the importance of a concerted EU response was discussed by ministers, including the option of triggering the unsustainable fishing regulation. This is something I have sought for some time and will continue to pursue. Even since the Council last week, we have seen questionable actions taken by other third countries in how we manage the mackerel stock in the north-east Atlantic. As recently as Monday evening, Norway, the UK, the Faroes and Iceland agreed, without the EU, on management arrangements for mackerel for 2026. The ICES headline advice for 2026 is 174,357 tonnes, which would represent a 70% reduction in last year's activity. This is based on a 50% probability that the stock will recover to its biomass limit, Blim, in 2027. I will define Blim for the benefit of the record of the House. Spawning stock biomass is the weight of the sexually mature fish in a population. Blim means the level of spawning stock biomass below which recruitment, that is, reproduction, is impaired, or the stock dynamics are unknown. Despite this, however, the four parties - Norway, the UK, the Faroes and Iceland - have agreed that the 2026 TAC should be 299,000 tonnes. This is based on the alternative catch scenario given by ICES based on application of the maximum sustainable yield rule, ignoring that the stock is below Blim. The really important thing about Blim is that it is a term set that gives the best chance of the stock recovering. That is something we all want to see. We want to see conservation measures that ensure we have long-term viability for our coastal communities and fishing stocks. When you deviate from that, you risk the potential for ultimate elimination of a stock. We now have a challenge in how we address this based on what were our partners up to now have done. The higher catch is associated with a higher risk, as I said, that the stock will not recover to its Blim in 2027. It may ultimately deplete the stock, take much longer to try to save it and, therefore, impact for a much greater period. The four-party agreement indicates that their combined share is 79.45%, which is equivalent to 238,000 tonnes, and 37% above the headline advice of 174,000 tonnes. The EU will now have to make a decision on whether it remains faithful to the ICES headline advice of 174,000 tonnes or takes its share of the higher figure of 299,000 tonnes. There are many issues to be carefully considered here. A higher TAC means more fish for our fleet but the one issue we need to be mindful of is that overfishing by some third countries has led to the collapse of the stock and a careful balance needs to be struck. This is Ireland’s most important stock and we need to sustain it in the long run. The impact of the scientific advice and resulting reductions in available quota, combined with Ireland not receiving its Hague preference quotas, will have significant operational and economic feasibility impacts on the seafood sector. The 2026 quota outcomes reflect the continued balancing act between maintaining viable fishing opportunities and protecting fish stocks in line with scientific advice under the Common Fisheries Policy. For Ireland, this reinforces the importance of maximising value from available quota and maintaining high standards of quality and market positioning. I will address the non-application of Ireland’s Hague preferences in the TAC and quota regulation. The Hague preferences were created to account for Ireland’s underdeveloped fleet and to counter the impact of access to Irish waters provided to vessels of other EU nations. These amounts of fish allocated to Ireland from other member states protected our fishing fleet from periods of severely depleted stocks. Deputies will be aware that, regrettably, a group of member states chose to block the invocation of Ireland’s Hague preferences this year; I have outlined the countries concerned. I am extremely disappointed that these member states have chosen to block the protection of our fleet at our time of most need. I said at the Council I felt it was comparable to an act of betrayal by colleagues of the fundamental terms and conditions of an insurance policy that is being paid for in fish by Ireland since 1983. It is particularly upsetting that the charge has been led by those who benefited most from access to Irish waters every year since 1983. I know, from discussions of the Council outcomes with the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Fisheries and Maritime Affairs yesterday, that Members will share the concerns I have outlined today, that they are equally appalled at the actions of those other member states and that they wish to know what actions will be taken. I acknowledge the support I have had from Irish seafood industry representatives over the past number of weeks. They have spoken as one and supported the approach I have taken in discussions and negotiations. An intensive schedule of work has to be undertaken over the coming weeks. I intend to work with colleagues in addressing that. The Minister, Deputy Heydon, and I have made it very clear that we intend to establish a task force, under the auspices of the food vision strategy, to advance a framework of supports for the seafood sector. A key priority for the food vision-seafood group will be to ensure that a framework of economic, environmental and social sustainability supports is available to the fisheries and seafood processing sector and its coastal communities. Obviously, we want to prioritise that work and ensure we move quickly to get that up and running. The group will be chaired by an independent chair and will include representatives from the fishing organisations, aquaculture and the seafood processing organisations. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and its agencies, and other relevant Departments and agencies, will form a very significant part of that. As I said, the task force will have to have an intensive schedule of work in the early stages to get it up and running. I want to see an interim report delivered in the first quarter of next year. I expect the first meeting of this group to start in early January and begin its work. As I mentioned at the committee yesterday, I intend to seek some external support to augment our Department capabilities to ensure the matter gets the priority it deserves. I am conscious that additional resources will be required to carry this out. I have already had conversations, on a number of occasions, with the Minister for public expenditure, Deputy Chambers. The Minister, Deputy Heydon, and I have had his support in this regard. We intend to move quickly on it. The Minister is here. He has been a tremendous support to me in my work over the last number of weeks. He has been available to use his influence, which is very considerable at European level, to try to get the best possible outcome. We are committed to working in unison through this particular period. We intend to appoint Michael Berkery as the independent chair. Michael is a well-known figure in the Irish agri-sector. He has made very significant contributions to Irish agriculture and the agrifood sector, notably, as CEO of the Irish Farmers' Association for 25 years, where he excelled in policy shaping and improving farmers' prospects. He was uncompromising in his pursuit of farming interests and is renowned for his exceptional political judgment and negotiating skills. These skills were harnessed through major CAP reforms and World Trade Organization negotiations, cementing his role as a pivotal figure in Irish agriculture history. Michael understands the needs of rural and coastal communities. He has been a tireless champion for rural communities. He brings enormous experience to dealing with politicians, senior civil servants, Departments, State agencies and the European Commission. He is alert to EU and national Exchequer funding, the relevant EU and national legislation and the constraints imposed by EU state aid rules by the European Commission. I look forward, together with the Minister, to building in a number of other individuals as part of that committee. I will certainly be happy to take any thoughts or views Members have in formulating that response or task force to address the very significant crisis we know we are facing.

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