Irish fishing vessels cannot fish within 12 miles of the Isle of Man and are excluded from fishing inside the six-mile exclusion zone around the entire British coast but the Minister wants to allow UK vessels access to Ireland's six-mile fisheries exclusion zone. This is unacceptable to the Irish fishing industry.

The Minister also stated that all Irish-registered fishing vessels of 18 m and over will be excluded from fishing inside Ireland's six-mile fishery limit from 2021 onwards, yet the Government is attempting to fast-track legislation that will allow vessels from Northern Ireland to fish inside Ireland's six-mile fishery zone. The UK has already stated that it is leaving the London Fisheries Convention, severing the existing arrangements which allow for access to inshore waters between neighbouring member states. Irish fishing organisations and fishermen are totally frustrated. It is hoped that the Bill is at least delayed until the outcome of the Brexit negotiations is known, and there is time for proper consultation with stakeholders.

It is important to put on record what exactly we propose to do, which is to reinstate a reciprocal arrangement that existed long before the London convention was agreed in the early 1960s, which recognised that there were established fishing patterns in play. What happened in October 2016 is the Supreme Court found that our arrangements were struck down in that context. Fishermen in the Republic of Ireland still enjoy a right and entitlement to fish in the Northern Ireland inshore sector. We are merely proposing to reinstate by legislation an arrangement that existed up to then.