Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 25 April 2024
62. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if the Government has considered the reclassification of Magheraroarty pier in County Donegal as a pier for landing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18300/24]
View answerI know we have done this through parliamentary questions, and so has my colleague Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn, but I want to ask the Minister about the designation and reclassification of Magheraroarty pier in County Donegal as a landing port for UK-registered vessels, similar to other piers and harbours in the county. This is something that would be transformative for the area and which the local community and businesses have sought for a long time due to the implications of Brexit. It is absolutely necessary, particularly for younger fishermen who have used that pier forever, and now because of the insistence on not reclassifying it, they are now discommoded in having to go to other piers, resulting in some cases in three hours of an additional journey for them.
As the Deputy knows, last year I designated three new ports in County Donegal - Bunagee, Glengad and Malin Head - as well as Dunmore East in County Waterford for landings from UK-registered Northern Ireland vessels. I also extended the opening hours in Greencastle. That brings the total number of ports designated for UK-registered Northern Ireland vessels to 11, seven of which are located in County Donegal.
Irish-registered vessels are obviously permitted to land at Magheraroarty pier. However, there are no current plans to include Magheraroarty harbour as a designated port for UK-registered Northern Ireland vessels given the significant extension in the number of designated ports in recent years and the levels of commitments and resources required and available. For a vessel to operate as a UK-registered vessel, the operators of the boat have to be based and addressed in Northern Ireland. That is one of the requirements for having a UK-registered vessel. That is why we saw prior to Brexit, and indeed still, some UK-registered vessels in different parts of Donegal. After that, UK-registered vessels were much more difficult to land in without designation. I moved to facilitate that by designating seven ports across Donegal. I did that based on where UK boats were landing into those harbours prior to Brexit and where there was an aspect of that.
For example, off north Inishowen, we have some Republic of Ireland-registered vessels that, post Brexit, cannot fish in the six to twelve-mile zone now. That is an impact of Brexit. Some of the boats that would be fishing off Inishowen in particular, for example, would be fishing in that six to twelve-mile zone and therefore need that designation. Those designations were based on where UK-registered vessels were landing into and where there was a track record of that.
Obviously, it is something I have monitored and looked at very closely. I believe the response I have put in place accommodates those vessels that are there. It is important that where there are new vessels, they are Republic of Ireland, ROI-registered. However, it is important we facilitate, where there is a track record of it, those that were UK-registered before, and I have moved to do that.
The Minister knows this case well because they have been in correspondence with him. He knows there is a vessel that has always been going in and out of Magheraroarty. He knows it now holds a UK licence and that the infrastructure it relies on is in Magheraroarty, the sheds and all the rest. He knows that the crew who are on that vessel are also from that area around Magheraroarty, and he knows that because he will not put pen to paper, he is forcing them to travel an extra three hours by boat around to Burtonport.
The Minister talks about additional resources that are required. Let me tell him this: that vessel was boarded three times by the Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority, SFPA. There was nothing seized and absolutely nothing untoward with it.
It was boarded at the weekend, on a Sunday, on each occasion - three times - between the hours of 5 a.m. and 9 a.m. There was no problem with resources when the SFPA wanted to board a vessel and found nothing untoward about it. When someone who is fishing off the coast of Scotland wants to bring their product into a Gaeltacht area in west Donegal - into the community where they were born and are from - the Minister prevents them from doing so. It makes no sense. In a week when the Minister refused to listen to a 14-year-old, Muireann Kavanagh, who is being prevented from fishing pollock with a line at Arranmore - she had to go to the European court in Strasbourg because her own government would not listen to her - the Minister needs to listen to fishermen in my community and designate that pier.
I will take the Deputy’s second point first. He talks a lot of hot air. He has no policy and no proposals. When he mentions young Muireann Kavanagh and the issue of the hook and line pollock fishery, the Deputy does not understand what he is talking about in terms of the wider policy environment. I have engaged with that young fisher lady - it is great to see her passion for it - but I have seen no proposals from the Deputy except that he is trying to exploit the situation. He and his party have come forward with nothing. I have seen nothing from them by way of proposals there. He may go over and back and issue press releases but it is vacuous. I look forward to seeing anything of substance from him on that and on the pollock fishery. As he knows, that fishery is closed on scientific advice to protect it and to allow it time to restock around Ireland, in the waters on the west coast of Britain and in all the waters to the north of France and Spain. It is closed for all pollock fishing, whether by hook and line or by net. We had about 550 tonnes of that last year and we have 70 tonnes this year as a by-catch. I look forward to anything of substance from the Deputy but I would not hold my breath.
The designation of ports for UK-registered vessels is something I have looked at very closely and continue to assess very closely in terms of genuine need. I have designated seven ports across Donegal to reflect the need that has been identified.
Young Muireann Kavanagh has shown the Minister up for what he is. He is the person with hot air. He should tell the truth to the Dáil now. The only time he reached out to Muireann Kavanagh was after she went out on the media - that very morning. That is the reality. She wrote to him twice. A young 14 year old fisher woman from the island of Arranmore watches from her bedroom as the supertankers sweep up fish and the Minister prevents her from fishing with a line. He will not carry out the reassessment we want of the evidence for the closure of that area. He will not allow for a heritage licence. His Government has blocked legislation that we put forward in that regard. Let us call a spade a spade. The Minister is the one who is blocking this.
Let us move to Magheraroarty. Only one thing is stopping this. The Minister talks about need. The need is there. The boat is there. Young fishermen are fishing from there. The infrastructure is there. The only person who is standing in their way as they seek to land fish in the community where they were born and raised, and which they want to support, is the Minister. He is deciding not to put pen to paper to designate that pier as a landing pier for UK-registered vessels. He says he is doing this because the resources are not there. That vessel will have to notify the SFPA when it is coming onto shore. It is not that it will be on shore every single day. The Minister has decided to put his face against the idea of them travelling a couple of extra miles because he just does not understand what is happening in his own community. There is absolutely no reason for him to do it.
Thank you, Deputy.
The SFPA had no problem going to Magheraroarty in the early hours of the morning on a Sunday on three occasions to board that vessel. When that vessel wants to bring product and land it in Magheraroarty, the Minister for fisheries tells us that the SFPA does not have the resources to make the journey to Magheraroarty. That is hot air.
Thank you Deputy. Minister -----
I appeal to the Minister, on behalf of fishermen in my community, to take out his pen and sign the document to reclassify Magheraroarty as a designated pier that will support that community and vessel and could also support other jobs in that community as well.
I always tell the truth. Deputy Doherty is not telling the truth about the response I gave young Muireann Kavanagh. I wrote her a handwritten letter -----
After she went on radio.
No, before that. Again, the Deputy is not telling the truth here. He might like to portray it otherwise, but he is not telling the truth. I wrote her a handwritten note explaining the situation. Unfortunately, on that issue, as on many other issues on fisheries, Deputy Doherty and his party are an empty vessel.
The Minister has created many an empty vessel.
Deputy Doherty has come forward with nothing of substance. All he tries to do is exploit the situation and make it sound like he has something to offer when he has nothing to offer. I have seen no proposal from the Deputy on the hook and line fishery for pollock. He has done nothing other than try to exploit the situation. That is the reality we see from him on many issues. I explained the situation there. I explained that I designated 11 piers and seven of these are in Donegal. To have a UK-registered vessel, the owner and operator of the vessel needs to be addressed and based in Northern Ireland. I believe the system I put in place and the seven ports I designated in Donegal are meeting the needs there at the moment. We put the resources in place for that. We responded very promptly to address the particular need caused by Brexit and the new regulations that came in place after that.
I think it is important that the Minister does not mislead the Dáil. Muireann Kavanagh wrote to the Minister in December.
The Deputy is an empty vessel. He is a bluffer.
Do not try to spin a lie. She is a 14-year-old girl. She wrote to the Minister a second time. When the parents were going on radio, the Minister sent a handwritten note to her at that point in time. Do not try to mislead the Dáil. This is a young person who is standing up not only for her own rights but for fishing rights across the community. She is currently in Strasbourg because the Minister is not doing his job.
The Deputy has nothing to offer but hot air. He is an empty vessel.
The Deputy is out of order.
