Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 22 Jun 2021

Vol. 1009 No. 1

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions

Deputy Mary Lou McDonald

Last weekend brought more very bad news for workers and families struggling to buy a home. Media reports quoted a series of housing experts predicting continued housing price hikes. This echoes similar commentary from the Governor of the Central Bank last week. One economist said of our housing market that it is on fire. Another warned that house prices could reach Celtic tiger levels. A third expressed the concern that house prices could continue to rise for the next four years. All of this is, of course, an indictment of the Taoiseach and Government’s failed policies.

Last Thursday during Leaders’ Questions, my colleague, Deputy Doherty, raised with the Tánaiste, Deputy Varadkar, the issue of rising house prices. By way of response the Tánaiste said that house prices are cheaper than they were 14 years ago and that, in any event, people were in a position to borrow more, in other words, to amass more debt.

This approach will only increase house prices further. One has to ask has the Tánaiste learned nothing from the past ten years? Does he not understand that more credit will mean more house price inflation, more debt for workers and families and more expensive housing? Does he not understand that increased debt means greater risk of mortgage default, repossession and, in worst case circumstances, perhaps homelessness?

I spoke yesterday to a family in Ringsend. There were three generations living in one home. They are by no means unique but I will talk about this family. One of the family members, a young woman aged 35 with a good job, had just moved back into her mother’s home for the fifth time. Because of the Government's failed policies, this woman and countless thousands like her feel that their lives are on hold. A whole generation has been left in the same situation. This woman and people like her do not need unsustainable levels of debt forced upon them; they simply need to put a roof over their heads. She needs a genuinely affordable home for her and her family.

Does the Taoiseach agree with the Tánaiste that house prices should increase further and that workers and families should go further into debt? Does he think that is acceptable or does he accept that house prices are too high? Does he also accept that heaping even greater debt on workers and families will force prices up and will not bring them down? All of this scenario, as it unfolds again in a housing crisis, smacks very strongly of the bad old days of Fianna Fáil in power.

The housing system is designed and delivered not for ordinary people, families or workers but by and for developers, and the banks too, of course, get their pound of flesh and line their pockets.

Will the Taoiseach clarify where he stands? Does he stand with his Tánaiste, Deputy Varadkar, who takes the laissez-faire approach whereby people should simply borrow more and buy more expensive housing, or does he accept that we have a crisis and need to deliver affordable housing?

The Taoiseach

I ask the Deputy where she stands. I listened to her sound bite after sound bite, slogan after slogan, which is really all about electioneering, is it not? The reference to Ringsend is no accident, obviously. We have all been out and about. I am very conscious of the significant issue that housing is. I have said repeatedly in the House that housing is a crisis. The Government is just about 12 months in office, dealing with a global pandemic that, unfortunately, impacted on house-building in 2020 by about 5,000 houses that we could have got built if there had not been a lockdown, and the lockdown of 2021 has impacted on us as well. That said, the Government has been very focused on building more houses, getting more supply into the market, which is the key issue, and doing it in such a way that we can make it affordable for people.

The Deputy knows the figures. About €3.3 billion has been allocated for housing alone in 2021. The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage is introducing a shared equity scheme, which will help people in terms of affordability, and the Government enhanced the help to buy scheme last year. That has helped about 22,000 buyers get on the property ladder. That is 22,000 people who have benefited from that scheme, yet the Deputy opposed that scheme and then comes to the House and lectures everybody else about affordability and trying to make housing affordable. She cannot have it both ways in respect of her stance on housing.

The Deputy seems to want to exploit it to win votes but comes up with very few solutions to it. She opposes every measure the Government introduces to try to make housing affordable. She is opposing the Affordable Housing Bill and the measures the Minister is introducing, in regard not just to shared equity but also to the enhancement of the serviced sites fund, which will involve the State providing thousands of affordable new homes over the next year or two. She opposes an extension and expansion of Part V of the Planning and Development Act to designate a range of homes for first-time buyers.

The first ever cost-rental scheme, being introduced by the Minister and providing up to 400 units, will be expanded significantly in 2022 and beyond. We have brought about 2,500 voids back into use very quickly through the July stimulus funding of last year. The Land Development Agency Bill is going through the Oireachtas and will provide additional capacity, through the agency, to get more houses built - both affordable and social. The initial portfolio for the Land Development Agency can potentially provide up to 4,000 homes to 2025, yet the Deputy opposes that also.

Family homelessness, in the past 12 months, has decreased by 39% on the total recorded in March 2020. It is the lowest number of families in emergency accommodation since February 2016. In a short space of time, that represents very significant progress by the Minister on this issue. He is using every possible opportunity, including a suite of affordable measures and a strong social housing programme, to try to get additional supply into the market.

In sharp contrast to that, the Deputy opposes all the affordability measures that have been introduced to date and that will be introduced in the coming while, and on the ground her party has been opposing many housing projects that are shovel-ready. Thousands of houses have been rejected and opposed by her party, which is completely inconsistent with the stance she takes in the House.

Deputy Mary Lou McDonald

Attacking Sinn Féin for a housing crisis Fianna Fáil created demonstrates just how threadbare the Taoiseach's approach is. The story I told of the woman and the family in Ringsend is not a sound bite. It is the truth. It is the reality they are living. One finds that reality throughout Dublin Bay South. The Taoiseach is on the doors and will hear it too in Sandymount, Pearse Street, Irishtown, Harold's Cross, Ranelagh and Rathgar. It is always the same and yet the Taoiseach is so out of touch with the harsh realities, he cites a shared equity scheme as evidence of his attendance to affordability matters, which is the very scheme that has been slammed and criticised by experts across the board, not just by Sinn Féin, because it is not the answer.

The answer is to double capital investment and for the State to really step forward to deliver 20,000 public homes every year to meet social and affordable need. That is not just Sinn Féin's view either. The Economic and Social Research Institute, ESRI, supports that view. Yesterday, the National Treasury Management Agency, NTMA-----

An Ceann Comhairle

The Deputy's time is up.

Deputy Mary Lou McDonald

----added its voice to this call. If the Taoiseach is serious about it, and I urge him to get serious quickly on this, can he confirm that he is up to that task?

The Taoiseach

The young people I have met and continue to meet want to be able to buy a house at an affordable price, yet the Deputy opposes every measure, not just the one mentioned in terms of equity. The help to buy scheme helped 22,000 people to buy homes, yet the Deputy opposed it and continues to oppose it. The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage has also introduced a new affordable purchase scheme, with the State directly building affordable homes in addition to the help to buy and shared equity schemes. The Deputy has opposed that as well.

On the ground, where we had a mix of housing projects, particularly in Dublin city with more than 1,200 in north Dublin, Sinn Féin opposed the building of those 1,200 houses and likewise, hundreds more in Tallaght, Clondalkin and elsewhere. It just does not stack up. The Deputy seems to think she can come in here day after day and attack every other Member in this House in respect of housing and getting more houses built, when she consistently-----

Deputy Mary Lou McDonald

Only the Taoiseach. I attack no one else-----

The Taoiseach

-----opposes project after project-----

Deputy Mary Lou McDonald

-----but his Government for its incompetence and its failure of an entire generation. Shame on him.

An Ceann Comhairle

The Taoiseach, without interruption.

The Taoiseach

-----for whatever reason and her fundamental position seems to be that her objective is to exploit the housing situation for her own electoral gain.

An Ceann Comhairle

The Taoiseach's time is up.

The Taoiseach

It is party before the country all the time with Sinn Féin. That is, unfortunately, true in terms of the Deputy's political operation.

An Ceann Comhairle

We need to move on. Our next contributor is the co-leader of the Social Democrats, Deputy Catherine Murphy.

Deputy Catherine Murphy

I am sure the Taoiseach paid close attention to the Tánaiste's Ard-Fheis speech last weekend, given Fine Gael is one of his partners in government. There is no doubt we witnessed a political transformation, unlike almost anything we have seen for the past 20 years. Having been an enthusiastic Tory fiscal conservative for his entire life, the Tánaiste has seen the light. There were so many spending commitments announced on Saturday that Fine Gael delegates must have been checking to make sure they were at the right event.

I will try to list some of the promises, but there were so many I may inadvertently leave some out. They included a commitment to build 40,000 houses per year, an extra €4 billion per year for the health service, expanded medical card eligibility, occupational pensions, a living wage and more money for welfare payments, all paid for not with tax increases but some vague sounding growth at a time the economy recovers from the pandemic, we are coping from Brexit and our corporate taxes are set to reduce.

I wonder if the Taoiseach is fearful that the next time he is down in Dublin Bay South, he will come across a Fine Gael bus with a big sign on the side of it stating there is €4 billion extra per year for the HSE emblazoned on the side of it. The Tánaiste's other political inspiration, Boris Johnson, found that kind of stunt useful. Given imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, I am gratified the Tánaiste has taken on some of the Social Democrats' policies, including improved public services, better pay and conditions for workers, a social welfare safety net in order that people to live in dignity and much increased State investment in housing. However, I am not sure he is a credible person to deliver on this given Fine Gael, after ten years in office, has not managed to reach the Rebuilding Ireland target of 25,000 houses annually, never mind 40,000 houses.

Meanwhile, 1 million people are currently on hospital waiting lists and it has taken Fine Gael ten years to realise the problems with gifting a new €800 million maternity hospital to a private company with a religious ethos.

Was the Taoiseach warned or even consulted in advance of these announcements? Are we to understand that the health budget will increase by €4 billion every year from now on? Will that come as a surprise to the Fianna Fáil Minister for Health, Deputy Stephen Donnelly? Is the Fianna Fáil Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, down in the Custom House planning the delivery of 40,000 houses? I hope so. Who in Government is deciding fiscal policy? Is it solely a Fine Gael remit? Does the Taoiseach stand over all those commitments and, just as important, does he stand over how they will be paid for?

The Taoiseach

I did not get a chance to watch all the Fine Gael Ard-Fheis but I picked up some aspects of it from the extensive media coverage. I can report that the Minister for Health is in good form over the last 48 hours in terms of the underpinning of the substantial health budget which will be required. He might optimistically think that his bilaterals with the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Michael McGrath, may not be as difficult or challenging as health Ministers generally have them with Ministers of public expenditure. That remains to be seen.

In a more serious vein, the programme for Government aims essentially to take this country through the pandemic as safely as possible, to facilitate the emergence of a strong economy and society and to learn the lessons of the pandemic in terms of a stronger State in health with reforms and funding. It is not just about funding, but the reforms that go along with it.

We have learned a lot during the pandemic. I was keen in late summer when working with the Minister for Health to ensure the winter initiative was introduced with €600 million, an unprecedented level of funding for a winter initiative, and to give full-year funding to that. That has made a significant difference to the capacity of the health service to withstand normal winter pressures, never mind the third wave. If it had not been for that level of investment in home care packages, community diagnostics and acute capacity, we would have been in far greater difficulty during the winter.

Regarding information technology, the digital transformation that occurred in certain aspects of health is something else we have to build on as we emerge from the pandemic. There will, without question, be a stronger health budget in the next year or two to make sure we embed the reforms that have been made and to underpin the level of services required. We are living longer generally and that will create its own additional cost.

On housing, we are very clear the single biggest issue of our time is to make sure the current generation, particularly but not just young people, are in a position to get into the housing market and buy houses that they can afford and that we can provide more social housing. With the Housing for All strategy, we are focusing on a significant social housing programme for the next five years.

Another key plank is climate change. We have already brought groundbreaking climate change legislation into this House and had it passed. There is a very extensive programme for Government which we are focused on delivering.

Deputy Catherine Murphy

Covid has certainly exposed huge weaknesses, including health, childcare and a range of other things. There is no doubt about that. However, announcements were made at the weekend. Does the Taoiseach stand over them? Are we, as I hope we are, seriously looking at 40,000 houses a year? Is that a Government commitment? Was the Taoiseach consulted in advance?

What about the summer economic statement? Has work been done on that already? Is it on the way? Are these announcements likely to be included in it or is this just about electioneering? It is important that we understand where the Government is at in terms of some of these announcements. There was a very long list of announcements. The Taoiseach might address the reference to 40,000 houses. Is that a firm commitment? Will the Government stand over it? Is it credible that what was announced can be paid for by way of growth without tax increases?

The Taoiseach

The Tánaiste's speech was to the Fine Gael Ard-Fheis and, as leader of that party, the Tánaiste is quite entitled to address and present the Fine Gael perspective on a variety of issues. The Ministers for Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform last evening presented us with an overview and presentation of the summer economic statement. It may be characterised as a more sober assessment of the situation over the next five years, generally speaking, in terms of the framework. We knew that, for these two years, exceptional spending would be required in terms of the pandemic, and an exceptional deficit. Over the lifetime of the Government, as part of the programme for Government, we have said we will ease our way through to a balanced fiscal position over the next five years. That is the trajectory the Ministers presented to us. They will be doing more work on that before the publication of the summer economic statement.

On the question about 40,000 homes, the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage is preparing the Housing for All strategy. We obviously lost a lot of houses last year and this year. Over the next ten years, we will have to build up. The ESRI has referred to 33,000 houses. Given that we lost 5,000 houses in 2020 and 6,000 or 7,000 in 2021, we need to make that up for the remainder of the decade.

Deputy Peadar Tóibín

The Government's mismanagement of the hospitality sector has been a car crash. The collateral damage has affected many pubs and restaurants, some of which have now been closed for 420 days. No other country in Europe has closed hospitality for so long. In research I have done today, I can find no other European country where indoor dining in restaurants is closed. Denmark and Finland had roughly the same level of mortality as this State and have had roughly the same level of vaccinations. They managed to open their indoor dining facilities in April and May. Here in Ireland, hotels have been allowed to open up indoor dining since the start of June and the Tánaiste says there is no science behind the decision to discriminate between hotels, restaurants and pubs.

There has been incredible confusion on our streets over the past while. The Government paid hundreds of thousands of euro in marketing to encourage people onto our streets while at the same time, we saw gardaí baton-charge young people off those streets. For weeks, the Government has allowed publicans to serve takeaway pints to thousands of people milling around our streets but has banned the sale of pints to people sitting safely at those publicans' tables outside those pubs. In the latest version, the Government has made millions of euro of grant aid available to pubs and restaurants to sell food and drink in areas where the sale of drink is illegal according to bylaws. It is an absolutely incredible situation.

Hospitality, tourism and aviation have been calling for the introduction of rapid antigen testing since its approval by the EU last December but the Government does not like the word "rapid" and cannot make a decision. We have a situation whereby the minister for making things up as we go along has concocted a solution for the confusion as regards the sale of alcohol and food on streets where it is actually banned. She has called on the gardaí to close their eyes and say nothing. It is an incredible situation. Restaurants and pubs in many parts of the country will now operate at the pleasure of local gardaí and discretion may mean that some restaurants and pubs can function and others cannot. Garda representatives themselves have said that when things go wrong, the blame will be put on their members, who will have to defend their actions. Those representatives have said they are worried that the Garda will be scapegoated for impossible decisions that will have to be made. I have never before seen a Government tie itself up in so many knots of confusion.

This Government has been a fiasco factory when it comes to hospitality. Will it now legislate so that pubs, restaurants and hotels can operate safely under the same science and the same regulations?

The Taoiseach

In fairness, that is gross hyperbole - a good scriptwriter, impressive in some respects, but not a fair assessment of where we are. First of all, the level of supports from the Government to hospitality has been unprecedented, as it had to be in the context of a global pandemic. Covid-19 has been particularly devastating for the hospitality sector, for travel and for tourism more generally, and that has been true all over the world, not just in Ireland. The virus and hospitality are close and good companions, unfortunately, and that is a reality we cannot escape. That is why it has been so difficult for all concerned.

Gardaí are not baton-charging people all over the country, as the Deputy is-----

Deputy Peadar Tóibín

I did not say that.

The Taoiseach

The implication was there in that polemic, but that is far from the case. I invite the Deputy to come to Cork and have a walk down a few streets in Cork, and he will see some great outdoor dining going on. I was in Dublin yesterday and called to a number of venues. People were in a very happy mood, dining outdoors, having a few drinks outdoors, engaging in a friendly way, and thankful, happy and appreciative of the fact they were able to participate in outdoor dining. We can overplay this as well.

That said, any issues that need to be resolved will be resolved through legal instruments. There has been no question but that the opening up in terms of outdoor dining and hospitality has worked, has been working and has been effective. We will continue, particularly with the employment wage subsidy scheme, EWSS, to the end of the year, to do everything we possibly can to make sure the hospitality sector can emerge viable out of the pandemic. That is why, in terms of VAT, for example, in the economic recovery plan we made very specific commitments out to September 2022, and we also made specific commitments in terms of rates relief, which is of value to many people working in the hospitality sector. We are very clear in terms of the recovery plan that for those sectors that were hit hardest by Covid, we will do everything we possibly can to support them throughout the pandemic but also as we emerge from the pandemic, with all the twists and turns that can happen and that can take place. From our perspective, we want to ensure the successful reopening of hospitality. To date, I think, outdoor hospitality has worked relatively well. As I have said, any legal instrument that is required to deal with the situation that emerged in the last 48 hours will be provided.

Deputy Peadar Tóibín

This issue is not just going to last for two weeks. Even when pubs open for indoor service around 5 July, we will have a situation where many people will not want to go indoors to eat and drink. We will also have a situation where capacity indoors will be less and, therefore, pubs and restaurants will need extra capacity outside. This issue is going to last right through the whole summer.

Then there is the question of insurance, which has not been considered. Many pubs and restaurants have applied for insurance on the basis of their licence but gardaí are saying that the licence does not extend to this outdoor space. We also have a situation where there is a backlog in the delivery of licences from local authorities, and some pubs and restaurants may be operating while waiting for that licence to be delivered. Where stands their insurance? Then we have small businesses which have put out tables and chairs in the hope of being able to make a living at this moment. Do they have insurance? Hope is not good enough in the Four Courts if they are being sued. Will the Taoiseach tell us what instruments will be introduced to solve this and when they will be introduced?

The Taoiseach

I agree with the Deputy that this is something that has to be dealt with quickly and it will be dealt with quickly. The Minister for Justice will be introducing a measure that will rectify this and regulate it appropriately, and deal with the issues that have arisen, as I have said. This has to be done very quickly.

Deputy Michael Collins

Tomorrow will see the biggest national organised protest seen in this country for many years as the fishermen and women of this country from Malin Head to Mizen Head converge in Dublin, similar to the protest in Cork two weeks ago, in a show of solidarity about the scandalous way that they have been treated for decades and especially for the last 12 months under the Taoiseach's leadership. This will be the second of many protests since fishermen have had enough of inaction, spin and lies. They will take the Taoiseach and the Government's leadership to task for huge inaction which will see every fisherman lose anything between €5,000 and €20,000, with significant job losses in rural Ireland.

I was told that the Taoiseach was in west Cork last Saturday, in Union Hall and Castletownbere. It is always important for a Head of State to visit west Cork. Those who told me on Friday and Saturday that the Taoiseach was coming felt that it was way too late, other than to hear about the nightmare crisis that these fishermen face after calamitous errors by this Government. When in west Cork last Saturday, did the Taoiseach apologise for his continued refusal to appoint a senior Minister for the marine, which was a red line for me in negotiations for the formation of a Government? No matter how I explained the imminent crisis of Brexit and other major issues related to fishing, the Taoiseach refused to understand the importance of appointing a Minister to protect Irish waters, fishermen and our richest resource. Did the Taoiseach take the opportunity to apologise for signing into law the unjust and shockingly unfair penalty points while in his short term as Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine in 2020?

Did the Taoiseach apologise for the shocking handling of Brexit negotiations in late 2020, where clear evidence shows that the Government's eye was off the ball despite me pleading for the Taoiseach to be involved? While the Government failed, France and other European countries had their terms and conditions fully met by negotiator Michel Barnier before they would agree to anything. Did the Taoiseach apologise to the fishermen for the cock-up with the weighing crisis hoisted upon our fishermen, with the weighing of fish on our piers for inshore and pelagic fishermen? We have since found out that the Minister and the Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority, SFPA, knew in December 2020 but failed to consult with the industry until 5 p.m. on Friday, 16 April, about what the industry would call a crisis beyond belief. If the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the SFPA could add more insult to injury to the Irish fishing fleet, we now have an agreement to allow French and Belgian trawlers to park at Irish piers and to unload straight onto lorries without weighing or any checks of any sort. This is a hard pill for honest Irish fishermen who park beside them and have been afflicted by every Irish rule and regulation inflicted on them by the State.

Did the Taoiseach apologise to the fishermen after the attempted ramming of a Castletownbere vessel off the Castletownbere coast by a Spanish trawler which was illegally fishing in Irish waters? It was three times the size of the Castletownbere trawler. Irish fishermen have no protection in their own waters since no one could come to their aid to immediately arrest the Spanish trawler which was carrying out an act of piracy. The only explanation that the Taoiseach gave last Saturday, which has left many exasperated, is that there is an uneven and unfair burden on Irish fishermen and he has made it clear to the Commission. Is that the best the Taoiseach has to offer? Everyone knew this already. Will the Taoiseach reveal today how these fishermen's incomes and livelihoods, which the Government is helping to destroy, can be saved without the word "decommission"?

The Taoiseach

I had good and constructive engagement with the fishers in west Cork over the weekend. I visited Castletownbere and Union Hall. We had a matter-of-fact meeting to go through the issues in a sensible way, listening to what the fishers had to say and identifying the issues. The country was faced with a no-deal Brexit or a trade and co-operation agreement. A no-deal Brexit would have been catastrophic for the Irish fishing industry, given how dependent our pelagic fleet is on fish in British waters and always was. It was always a problem even prior to Brexit and once Brexit was contemplated at all. That said, there was, in our view, an unfair burden on Ireland arising out of that agreement, which we are pursuing with the Commission. That leads to the key item at the meeting. At the meeting I had yesterday, I initiated a social dialogue forum with the fishing industry and I met with the producer organisations and fishing representatives from the different categories and sectors for more than two hours to go through these issues. One is the Common Fisheries Policy review next year, which will give us an opportunity to see if we can claw back some of the quota and share that we lost as a result of Brexit. Another issue is the control plan.

Deputy Collins is being somewhat disingenuous.

The Department did not remove the derogation in respect of the weighing of fish in our factories. As he knows, the Commission initiated proceedings and an investigation into the plan. Its implementing decision revoked the approval of the Irish control plan for the weighing of fishery products which had been submitted. We received that Commission implementing decision revoking the approval of the Irish control plan submitted for the weighing of fishery products. The SFPA must now respond to that. This is a very serious issue for all the fishers. One of the reasons I was in Union Hall and Castletownbere was to witness at first hand the impact of this decision.

We also need to engage with the Commission on that. Rightly or wrongly, the Commission's assertion is that there was overfishing of our quota and it wants to claw some of that back. We are resisting that. We will need to deploy all legal tools at our disposal to resist it. That brings me back to a point I made to all the groups yesterday. We need to reset our relationship with Europe regarding fishing. The Commission's perception of how we are enforcing the Common Fisheries Policy in Ireland and our perception of that are miles apart. Standing up and attacking the Government on these issues is missing the point. We need to engage with the European Commission on these issues. I intend to engage with it. I intend to work closely with the fishing industry to go through the items I have just referenced and other items that were also raised.

Deputy Michael Collins

The Taoiseach mentioned the weighing issue and suggested it is the business of the SFPA. The bottom line is that the SFPA and the Minister knew in December that there was a crisis. They did not consult with the industry and they are only doing so now when it is too late. Listening to the Taoiseach today convinces me that the Government does not have a plan for fishing other than to kick the can down the road until next year. All the fishermen are being fed is spin and more spin, going around in circles and leading them to a crisis protest tomorrow.

Only last week the Minister, Deputy McConalogue, stated incorrectly to the Dáil that the control plan is at public consultation. This is incorrect as only white fish and shellfish plans are at public consultation. Pelagic fishing is excluded from the consultation and is not part of any proposals. He also stated that the SFPA would submit the control plan to the European Commission. This is incorrect and misleading as section 43 of the Sea-Fisheries and Maritime Jurisdiction Act 2006 states it is the function of the Minister to submit the control plan to the European Commission following a Cabinet decision on that plan. No control plan can be submitted to the European Commission by the SFPA. This kind of spin to our fishermen is why we are in the mess we are in today.

I plead with the Taoiseach to give us an honest answer. How does the Government propose to immediately address the incomes and the livelihoods of thousands of Irish fishermen who will face an enormous drop in income or face losing their jobs? I again ask the Taoiseach not to insult the fishermen of Ireland by mentioning decommissioning.

The Taoiseach

I do not intend to engage in any spin. I will talk directly to the fishers generally and to the fish producer organisations. The purpose of yesterday's meeting with all the organisations across the country was to have a no-holds-barred meeting. It cannot be ping-pong with one side standing back attacking the other. That achieves nothing. That is why the Minister established the seafood sector task force. Agreement was reached on an initial application of funding from the Brexit Adjustment Reserve Fund which would provide support to counter the adverse consequences of Brexit and to help fishers in the immediate timeframe ahead. The task force will then return to a broader application of funding from the Brexit Adjustment Reserve Fund to see how we can in the medium term support fishers and also the coastal communities supported by fishing.

As the Deputy notes, the Government has provided substantial supports to Castletownbere, a harbour close to his heart. In May, the Minister announced a substantial capital programme in that respect and we also want to support fishing communities through the Brexit Adjustment Reserve Fund. We want to support primarily the fishers themselves who are under considerable pressure from both Brexit and the decision by the European Commission in respect of the control plan.