A commitment by Taoiseach Micheál Martin to “do right by the Irish fishing community” has failed to avert a large scale protest planned by the sector for Dublin Port this week.
As The Times Ireland edition reports, the protest planned for Wednesday (June 23) is expected to involve vessels from many ports steaming up the river Liffey.
They will berth close to the National Convention Centre, where the Dáil has been sitting temporarily.
Supported by the main fishing industry organisations, the protest comes several weeks after a similar “steam-in” to Cork harbour to highlight the impact of the Brexit deal which was co-ordinated by the Irish South and West Fish Producers’ Organisation.
Mr Martin and Minister for Marine Charlie McConalogue are due to hold online discussions on Brexit and other issues today (Mon June 21) after a visit by Martin to west Cork ports including Castletownbere and Union Hall.
Castletownbere fishing port in West Cork
Speaking to reports in Castletownbere, Martin said that the Government had “already signalled to the European Commission that we are not happy with the unfair burden-sharing that occurred as a result of Brexit.”
Allocation of quotas was “challenging” and he hoped to “redress the balance” and “do right by the Irish fishing community”.
Martin’s weekend visit to hear the views of fishermen was organised by Fianna Fáil Cork South-West TD Christopher O’Sullivan, who called in the Dáil last week for a “whole government” approach to addressing the “unfair burden share” imposed on Ireland in the Brexit deal.
The EU-UK free trade agreement has resulted in a 15 per cent overall reduction in Irish fish quotas – to the value of 43 million euro – between now and 2026.
Irish fishing industry organisations are demanding that the Taoiseach demands a “fairer burden share” from the EU.
Ireland currently bears the largest proportionate loss of fish among eight EU coastal states which had fished in British waters.
The protest is calling for a renegotiation of the EU Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) to ensure Ireland is allocated a fair share of quotas in its own waters.
It is calling for “equal burden sharing” among EU member states in relation to the Brexit deal, and a fair share of the Brexit Adjustment Reserve fund for the fishing industry.
The withdrawal of Ireland’s control plan by the EU – which means all fish has to be weighed on the pier, affecting quality – and issues with the current penalty points system for fishing offences are also being highlighted.
The industry also wants “immediate reinstatement” of traditional access to fishing grounds at Rockall and equal rights for all seafarers under Revenue and taxation laws.
An interim report published last week by the Government’s seafood task force had many valid proposals to ease the Brexit deal's impact, the spokesman said.
The interim report recommends a voluntary temporary tie up scheme of one month’s duration be offered to approximately 220 whitefish vessels impacted by the quota reductions in the period from September to December this year, among other measures.
Read more in The Times Ireland edition here
