Latest press release from John Brady TD, issued on Tuesday, November 15th 2016…
Sinn Fein TD for Wicklow East Carlow has said that there exists considerable fear within the local fishing community over the potential effects of Brexit. Speaking in Arklow recently after he co-hosted a public meeting alongside Sinn Fein MEP for Ireland South Liadh Ni Riada, Teachta Brady said a united front is urgently needed in an effort to protect our fishing industry.
Teachta Brady Said:
“A packed room on a wet and cold November Friday evening speaks for itself. The people who showed up at our public meeting were quick to communicate their fears over Brexit with the emphasis clearly on the challenges ahead for the local fishing industry locally. Questions from the floor included worried queries regarding a recent high court decision which upheld a complaint that fishing vessels registered in the North of Ireland were excluded from certain activities in 26 county waters. The problem of course is that many local fishermen happen to have Northern registered vessels. They now risk being banned from operating in their own home territory. For decades the fishing industry North and South enjoyed mutual agreement to share the waters, it now looks like this could be turned on its head, leaving a struggling fishing community who are unsure as to their future.”
Teachta Brady went on to say that upcoming negotiations around Brexit offer the Irish Government an excellent opportunity to catch a better deal for the Irish Fishing Industry:
“With Britain exiting the European Union and potentially taking back full control of their fishing Industry, it is impossible to say at this point what impact this will have on the Irish Fishing industry in terms of access to waters and in terms of quotas which are currently decided at European level. Other questioners at the meeting asked what plans if any the government had drawn up to counteract the potential impact of Brexit. Unfortunately we had to tell them that as of now, we are unaware of any confirmed structured initiatives emanating from government quarters.”
Co-hosting the meeting with Teachta Brady, Sinn Fein MEP Liadh Ni Riada who is on the European Parliaments fisheries committee said the only way to combat these issues was for a strong and determined united front to come together and lobby both the Irish government and Brussels for the best deal possible:
“I am meeting with communities all over the country in relation to fishing waters and quotas in the context of Brexit. At the moment the system in place allows for foreign vessels with increased quota levels to catch Bluefin Tuna and Seabass due to surplus stock, yet Irish vessels do not have the same rights because our government department failed to request a quota increase. This is just one example of how the Irish Fishing industry is at the mercy of an inept government department at the worst possible time. As a result I will be meeting with The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) in Brussels to argue on behalf of the Irish fishing industry. To the best of my knowledge no member of any Irish Government has ever had a meeting with this important body.