We use Google Analytics to see which pages are read and how the site is used, so we know what to improve. This only runs if you accept. See our privacy notice for details.

Dáil
‹ Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation

Rockall fishing rights

Summary

Deputy Michael Collins asks whether Ireland has conceded Rockall to the UK and seeks action to restore fishing rights around it. The Taoiseach says no concession has been made and says talks with Scottish and UK counterparts are ongoing.

Taoiseach, I have always advocated for the rights of Irish fishermen whose quotas have been decimated over the years with 25% lost after Brexit and no recovery of quota since. Irish boats have, for generations, fished Rockall but in 2021, the Scottish Government claimed the rock and a 12 mile limit around it. Has the Irish Government conceded the ownership of Rockall to the UK? If not, what is the Government proposing to do to get Ireland's right to fish the grounds around the rock back?

Comment on this

We have not. There has been good, constructive engagement with the Scottish Government, to be fair, over the last number of years on this issue. Actually, it was the last British Government that did not facilitate an agreement on research and so forth that had been arrived at between the Scottish Government and the Irish Government.

We have reactivated that with the new British Government and with the new Scottish First Minister and there is ongoing engagement with officials on both sides with a view to arriving at an agreement that can then be green lighted by the UK Government in Westminster. That is the sequence and process by which it has to be done. We are, however, very mindful of the situation pertaining to fishermen in the Rockall area more generally.

Comment on this