Morale among Irish fishermen is at an all-time low. These hardworking men across the country have given blood, sweat and tears to their profession and have seen their every right eroded by successive Governments year after year, decade after decade. Fishermen have no faith in the political system. They feel strongly that there is no concession to be made in any negotiations with Europe and that their rights in the Irish Sea are being given away bit by bit.

A number of serious concerns have been simply overlooked by the Government. Yesterday, an Irish trawler was chased out of Irish waters by a Spanish vessel. I saw evidence of this because the incident was filmed. Last night, when I asked fishermen whether it had been reported, I was told it was a regular occurrence and that they worry that if they report anything, it is they who will be prosecuted rather than the foreign vessels which bully them with their huge trawlers.

Similarly, a couple of weeks ago I received a call from inshore fishermen of Castletownbere pleading for a cull of seals as the large number of them is causing chaos for inshore fishermen. Will a cull happen? I am afraid not.

Approximately six weeks ago I raised the question of why Irish fishermen have no bluefin tuna quota when there has been an explosion in the number of these fish in Irish waters. Other European countries - France, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Greece, Malta and Cyprus - have applied and been granted quotas but Irish fishermen have none.

Last year, I raised the considerable losses of equipment many fishermen have experienced due to the severe storms along the shoreline at locations such as Schull, Castletownbere and Union Hall, and the need to set up a compensation package for them. However, my call fell on deaf ears. Another significant problem for inshore fishermen from west Cork and Kerry is that the only fishing they can do in bad weather is for scallops, which entails towing a small metal dredge with a net attached along the seabed. In bad weather, the equipment can simply be brought home every evening.

The fishing side of this job is the easy bit. The selling side is the problem as the scallop need to be tested for biotoxins once a week. No one sees the need to test them once a week. I find this extreme. Surely once a month would be more than enough. However, the nightmare for the fisherman does not end there as he is only allowed to fish 12 to 15 scallops. He must put scallops in a polystyrene box and send them by post to the Marine Institute in County Galway to get them tested. This is not only expensive but it is absolutely ridiculous. Whoever heard of posting fish to County Galway? If the d’Unbelievables did a sketch on it, we would say it was far-fetched. Would a person post meat to Galway and expect it to be fresh on arrival? The fisherman must then keep watch on a website to see if they pass the test. It could take one week before the fishermen can go back to sea. We must put proper facilities in place in Clonakilty so all this testing can take place in one day and fishermen can do the job they want to do which is to fish.

One month ago in Cork County Council chambers, my brother, Councillor Danny Collins, put forward a motion, which was fully supported by the councillors, that we need a stand-alone Minister for fisheries and the marine. Organisations like the Irish South and West Fish Producers Organisation cannot deal with the huge challenges fishermen face on their own. They need a Minister for fishermen with sole responsibility for fisheries.

Do not forget the fisherwomen.

And fisherwomen.

I thank the Deputy for giving me the opportunity to respond to the challenges facing the fishing industry. It is an industry I know well. Indeed I know many of the people who work in it well, having been Minister with responsibility for fisheries. The current Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, with responsibility for fisheries continues to prioritise it, whether it is through the Brexit discussions, through the roll-out of the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund, EMFF, which has seen almost a doubling in the funding available to the fishing industry under the new Common Fisheries Policy, or through new innovative policy around banning large trawlers from the six mile zone to try to create space for smaller trawlers and artisan fishing industries in west Cork, west Donegal and elsewhere. We will continue to prioritise the fishing industry and to protect it from the challenges it is undoubtedly facing, whether around sustainability, marine litter, achieving a fair share of the quota, ensuring we maintain and protect fish stocks by applying the science appropriately in deciding on available quota each year or ensuring we drive a hard bargain and protect our fishing industry in the context of Brexit decisions. All those things are a priority for Government and, if I may say, are being handled effectively by the current Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine who continues to raise the fishing industry's issues around the Cabinet table and elsewhere.

I thank the Tánaiste for his reply. Irish fishermen face uncertain times in Irish waters due to Brexit. In the UK British Ministers and MPs are making it very clear that when Brexit kicks in, Irish fishermen are to be kicked out of UK waters. This is how they will protect their fishermen going forward. What will happen when other European vessels are put out of UK waters? The real concern is they will head straight into Irish waters where they have been made more than welcome down through the years. The Tánaiste knows the position as a former Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine. I want to make very clear that this is not a criticism of the Minister but a criticism of continuous Governments that have simply left Irish fishermen on their own. If this Government is serious about protecting Irish waters and fishermen now is the time to stand up and be seen. It must appoint a stand-alone Minister for the coastal communities who will stand with those who have been the poor relation in Irish politics for far too long, namely, the Irish fishermen and women.

I share the view that the Irish fishing industry needs to be prioritised, because like in farming, many of the decisions we make as politicians, whether in Brussels or in Dublin, impact directly on the livelihoods and the opportunities for fishermen in terms of the stocks they catch and the trade deals done that allow us to export and sell that catch profitably. The connection between political decision-making and the future of the fishing industry is hugely important. That is why fishing has taken on a hugely important part of the Brexit negotiations.

The Deputy may have noticed that in the most recent decisions before the end of last year, on finalising the text of a withdrawal agreement in the context of the backstop about which people talk so much and the single customs territory which allows UK products to be potentially sold into the EU Single Market tariff-free, it was fishing, fish products and fish that were the exception there. The EU was making it very clear that until there is a comprehensive future trade agreement, including on fish, we are not willing to give any concessions at all, even relatively low-level tariff concessions to fish caught in British waters being sold into EU markets, which by the way is about 70% of fish caught in EU waters. We have work to do here but I can assure fishermen very directly that they are a big priority in the context of our Brexit negotiation approach.