Sinn Féin has accused the Government of “kicking the fishing industry while it’s down” by failing to tackle the fuel cost crisis hitting fishermen and coastal communities.
Sinn Féin spokesman on Rural Affairs and Community Development, Conor McGuinness raised the issue in the Dáil yesterday (March 25th), having written to Tánaiste Simon Harris and Minister of State for Fisheries and Marine Timmy Dooley calling for urgent action in his role as Oireachtas fisheries committee chair.
“Fishermen are being hit hard by soaring fuel costs, and this Government is kicking the fishing industry while it’s down,”he said.
“My colleague, Sinn Féin spokesperson on fisheries Pádraig Mac Lochlainn, and I have highlighted this issue and are deeply disappointed that the Government has chosen to ignore the concerns of fishermen,”he said.
“Fuel is one of the biggest costs facing fishing vessels. When prices surge like this, it puts real pressure on whether boats can go to sea at all,”he said.
“The Government has brought forward a response to rising fuel prices, but fishermen have effectively been left out,”he noted.
“That is a serious failure. It risks doing lasting damage to a sector already under pressure and to the coastal communities that depend on it,”McGuinness said.
“This crisis is wider. Families are struggling with rising petrol and diesel costs and with sharp increases in home heating oil,”he said.
“The Government had the option to go further and provide real relief, including for sectors like fishing that are most exposed. They chose not to,”he said.
“They need to act now to support fishermen and protect the communities that rely on them,”McGuinness said.
