To start with, we in Independent Ireland extend our sincere sympathies to the families of all those who lost their lives in Australia in the past few days as a result of the Bondi Beach tragedy.

What happened last Friday in Brussels was nothing short of a disgrace. It was a betrayal of the Irish fishing industry and of every costal community in this country. Ireland has been stabbed in the back by those who call themselves our European partners. The outcome of the EU Fisheries Council negotiations for 2026 quotas represents a black day for Ireland. It is a day that will never be forgotten by our fisherman. For decades, Ireland has played by the rules. Since 1973, we have opened our rich waters to Europe under the Common Fisheries Policy. We gave access and we sacrificed. In return, we were promised a measure of fairness, a safeguard called the Hague preferences. That was our crumb of comfort when cuts were imposed. Last Friday, that safeguard was ripped away. It was blocked deliberately by the Netherlands, backed by France, Germany and, shamefully, Poland, which had pledged support but which turned its back when it mattered. The Netherlands, with its factory ships and super-trawlers, already dominates our waters. It control fleets across Europe. It has now ensured its dominance will continue, while Irish fishermen are left to rot. The countries involved have declared war on the Irish fishing fleet.

Let us talk facts. Belgian beam trawlers will haul 400 tonnes of black sole from Irish waters in 2026. Irish fishermen will catch just 28 tonnes in our own waters. We are staring down the barrel of a loss of over €100 million in quota value, a hit of more than €200 million to wider seafood sector and more than 2,500 jobs gone from communities that have already been gutted by years of EU mismanagement and Government indifference.

Let us not forget that this is not the first time. We were sold out during the Brexit negotiations. A deal struck at Christmas that year gutted our industry, and now we are here again. We depended on Barnier that time and he stuck us on the double. Now, it is another Christmas, another blow, another betrayal. The amount of fish we will be allowed to catch in 2026 in the waters off our coast will be less than 9%, while others have increased their shares to 91% as a result of this action. Where is relative stability now? Those involved blocked the Hague preferences and secured their own access. They did all of that under the banner of European solidarity. Solidarity - I hate to say it - my arse; this is piracy dressed up as policy. I say this plainly. Ireland has been betrayed. The Common Fisheries Policy is corrupt. It is designed to serve the interests of the big players, such as the Netherlands, France and Germany, while crushing small coastal nations like ourselves.

What do we get from our Government? Silence and platitudes. There is no fight, no backbone and no defence of our people. Where were the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and the senior Minister last weekend? The Minister of State, Deputy Dooley, was there, but where were the rest? We need a full scale political response. We need to challenge this injustice at every level. We need to-----

Thank you, Deputy.

-----protect what is left of our industry before it is whipped off the map. If we do not, mark my words, the Irish fishing industry will not survive another decade.

The Taoiseach to respond.

Will the Government challenge this in courts going forward?

I thank the Deputy for raising what is a very important issue. I agree with him that what happened in Brussels last week was absolutely unacceptable in terms of the pulling back of the Hague preferences. The situation is far more grave than that, however.

In terms of the overall issue, it was on scientific advice that the Council based its decisions. The Deputy is familiar with the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, ICES, report, in which the scientific advice was, in essence, for a reduction of 70% in the total allowable catch for mackerel - that is existential for the pelagic fleet - a 41% reduction in respect of blue whiting and a 22% reduction in respect of boarfish. These are devastating losses for our fishing community, with consequential issues for seafood sector, for processing downstream and for coastal communities that are dependent on jobs arising from that.

The issue of unsustainable fishing of key pelagic stock such as mackerel by certain coastal states outside the European Union has been raised by Ireland repeatedly. We have, through the AGRIFISH Council, called for urgent European action to save the north-east Atlantic pelagic stocks. Again, Europe needs to negotiate far more strongly in terms of sending a clear message that actions that threaten the sustainability of our shared stocks are not acceptable to the European Union. There needs to be a concerted response. The Minister of State, Deputy Dooley, travelled to all the capitals and worked extremely hard. The Minister, Deputy Heydon, was there with the Minister of State at the time. I met with all the major fishing organisations last week or the week before last.

What we have to do now is develop our approach. Today, the Government took a decision to establish a task force with the industry to come back to us in the first quarter of next year in terms of how we, nationally, can support our fishers and create a sustainable pathway over the next number of years. We intend to re-engage regarding our limitations under existing state aid rules. Given the existential nature of this hit to the Irish fishing industry, we will have to respond in a strong way in terms of financially supporting our fishers over the next number of years. Approximately €102 million is involved, and that does not take account, as the Deputy said, of the impacts on the value chain in the seafood sector for fish processes and ancillary services. That is also an issue of significant concern. The Hague preferences would have accounted for somewhere between €13 million and €18 million of that €102 million, so it is a much bigger issue, notwithstanding the unacceptable nature of the decision of other member states not to facilitate the granting of the Hague preferences. We will work now with the industry with a view to designing a package and a framework to create a sustainable future for Irish fishing.

Let us be honest: a task force is political theatre. It will not restore quotas, it will not save jobs and it will not undo the betrayal of last Friday. Ireland has been stripped of the Hague preferences, with our share cut to less than 9% while others walked away with 91%. That is piracy, not partnership. I met many trawler owners in Castletownbere on Sunday. They tell me that 30 articulated lorries come into Castletownbere every week and leave it with Irish fish out of Belgian, Spanish, French, UK and German trawlers. They are robbing our Irish fish in our Irish water and taking it into their countries while we stand idly by and accept this. I am not asking for another committee or report. Will the Government take this fight to the highest court possible? Will it challenge this corrupt decision by legal means or will it stand by while Dutch super-trawlers plunder our waters and Irish coastal communities are wiped off the map? Let us have no more excuses. Will the Government fight or will it surrender?

Hear, hear.

I put it to the Deputy that what I am proposing is far more realistic in terms of an immediate or timely response to the predicament and the dire situation Irish fishers find themselves in, primarily, let us be honest, because of scientific advice. When the stock is-----

What caused that to happen?

I gave the reason earlier.

Deputy Mac Lochlainn, this is not your question.

This is Deputy Collins's time. Sinn Féin cannot cannibalise everyone else and grab their time. I know it tries to do it politically.

What have you done, as Taoiseach of our country, since last Friday?

Deputy Collins is the one Deputy in this House who has raised this issue.

You have not done a thing.

Deputy Mac Lochlainn's party chose not to raise it. Deputy Collins raised it and, in fairness to him, he should be allowed time for a response.

There has been not a word from you.

I say to Deputy Collins that we will look at all options. The most immediate one I am concerned about is that we need a framework of response in order to bring about a financially sustainable future for Irish fishers.

That is important. We want to work with the industry to do that.