Fishermen, fisher-women and the fishing industry in general have been the poor relation in Irish politics. The fishing industry has struggled to be recognised as the second most important in the country owing to a lack of vision shown by successive Governments. On Sunday the British who have been sweetening the Irish Government up to now with some nice words about Brexit came out and showed, in respect of the fishing industry, that they wanted to see a hard Brexit. They want Irish trawlers out of British waters, in which up until now we have fished 60% of our mackerel stock and 40% of our prawn stock. Also, European trawlers will have to exit British waters. The Taoiseach knows well to where they will turn when this happens: straight into Irish waters. In recent years some €2.5 million worth of Irish fish has left the port of Castletownbere alone weekly in foreign vessels for Spain. This is an extraordinary loss to Irish fishermen and the economy. In an interview on RTE Radio 1 on Sunday the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Michael Creed, when pushed on the announcement made by the British, accepted that it would be a disaster if it were to happen. However, what was most worrying was that when the Minister was pushed further, he accepted that the Government had no plan B. In all honesty, it has no plan A or plan B for Irish fishermen and Governments have not had for many years.

Recently at the Joint Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs representatives of fishing organisations were present for several hours. The unfair way in which many fishermen are being treated is scandalous, to say the least. Fishermen from the south west only possess 13% of mackerel fishing rights, while those in the north west possess 87%. Public representatives and the Irish South and West Fish Producers Organisation did their best on the day to put the case. We said all we wanted was that if a further quota became available, fishermen in the south west should be given first choice, but all of our efforts will fall on deaf ears.

Fishermen are facing and have faced some tough years. Inshore fishermen have been almost totally forgotten. In 2007 the Government of the day introduced a ban on drift-net fishing for salmon in Irish waters. This had a devastating effect on all coastal communities. Drift-net fishing for salmon was the lifeblood of offshore islands and rural communities where the only employment to be gained was in fishing or farming. The ban should never have been introduced and was to have been reviewed after seven years. Ten years later, there has been no review and none is planned. In 2007 inshore fishermen were blamed for the drop in salmon stocks, but the so-called experts have been proved wrong as stocks have not yet recovered. In turn, it has led to anglers and other bodies seeking a seal cull.

The Taoiseach has a unique opportunity to be different from his predecessors in respect of the fishing industry. How does he intend to deal with the announcement made by the British over the weekend?

How does he propose to deal with the massive anomaly whereby south west fishermen have only 13% of the mackerel rights? In regard to inshore fishermen, will the Taoiseach provide for a review of the salmon drift net fishing ban, which is now three years overdue? If the Taoiseach and the Government are serious about the importance of the fishing industry, will he appoint a designated Minister for the marine with sole responsibility for rebuilding the fishing industry in this country?

The announcement by the UK that it is withdrawing from the London Fisheries Convention is very unwelcome. It is important to note that this forms part of the UK's approach and negotiating position to broader Brexit negotiations. The announcement will have no immediate affect, as the withdrawal process for the convention takes at least two years.

As the Deputy will be aware, 35% of the fish that we land is taken from UK waters, including very valuable fish such as mackerel and prawn. I was interested to learn in my study of this issue that we take so much of our fish from UK waters. We hear often about the amount of fish that is taken from our waters by others but, as I said, 35% of the fish we land, is taken from British waters. As noted yesterday by Michel Barnier, the UK decision to withdraw from the convention does not trigger any immediate change. He is now focused on prioritising the fisheries interests of the EU 27. The threats posed by Brexit to the Irish fishing industry were discussed as recently as last Thursday at a session hosted by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Creed, with the industry at Seafest in Galway. This dialogue with the industry will continue as the situation evolves.

The Minister, Deputy Creed, and his Department have been working closely with their counterparts in other EU member states that have a particular interest in the north west waters. A unified front on these matters and a united negotiating position by all of these countries is what is best for Ireland and the EU. The Minister, Deputy Creed, will also be speaking to the UK Secretary of State for the Environment, Michael Gove, MP, this week regarding this matter and other priority issues in the agriculture and fisheries sectors. If there is additional quota, we will strive to ensure that Ireland gets a fair share of it, bearing in mind sustainability. Fisheries stocks all around the world, particularly around Europe, have been horrendously depleted in the last number of decades due to over-fishing. It is not in any of our interests in the long term that that should continue, for all the obvious reasons.

In terms of mackerel, the mackerel review is ongoing. No decision has yet been taken on it but once a decision is taken the Minister, Deputy Creed, will make an announcement. The Minister for Agriculture, Marine and Food is the Minister with responsibility for the marine and he as at the Cabinet table.

I thank the Taoiseach for his reply. I do not agree with him that there is not a need for a designated Minister for the marine. The potential to this country is huge if we had a Minister for the marine. Until this is addressed, as I said earlier, the fishing industry will remain the poor relation in Irish politics. I also asked the Taoiseach about the unfair mackerel quota system. I do not think he is clear on this issue. As I said earlier, 87% of the quota goes to the north west and only 13% goes to the south west. If any additional quota becomes available the situation in the south west will have to be addressed going forward. The Taoiseach did not mention the inshore sector, where up to 85% of the fleet are also entitled to a fair share of the quota and not the crumbs. This Government and previous Governments have not realised the social economic benefit which small inshore boats bring to communities. They far outweigh what the big fleets bring.

I urge the Taoiseach to explore why salmon levels are decreasing, which is of concern to inshore fishermen and anglers. If the Taoiseach will not accede to my earlier request of a review of the drift net salmon ban, will he at least set up a pilot scheme to allow a small number of boats in each county, under the guidance of the Marine Institute to ascertain stocks at sea? If this Government remains laid back on the fishing industry it will have far-reaching implications for this country.

As the Deputy will be aware, the Constitution provides for only 15 Ministers at the Cabinet table. To establish a new Department of the marine it would be necessary to abolish another Department. For the duration of this Government, the marine sector will continue to form part of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. There are obvious synergies in having agriculture, food and the marine together, for reasons I am sure the Deputy understands.

In regard to the mackerel issue, I am aware that there is ongoing competition between the fisheries in the south west and the fisheries in Donegal and Killybegs in terms of quota. As I said earlier, the review is ongoing. The Minister, Deputy Creed, has not yet made a decision on the matter but once he has made a decision the Deputy and the industry will be notified of it.

On the inshore issue, I will come back to the Deputy on that matter as I do not have up-to-date information on it today.