I acknowledge the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, Deputy Ahern's, participation with the delegation from Donegal after Christmas. I also acknowledge his honesty. A few blunt instruments have been used in regard to Donegal due to the fact that perhaps things were based on anecdotal evidence as opposed to scientific data.
I will not use this opportunity as a launching pad to say what should or what could have done right. The reality is Donegal fishermen have lost out in this deal. I also acknowledge the lobby groups, the Greencastle fishermen and the Killybegs Fishermen's Association, and the proactive work they have done and the in-depth knowledge they have in relation to fishing in that part of the world.
I propose December as a milestone in regard to fishing in Donegal and throughout the country. The nine day rule will be reviewed in December and things will not change if there are no scientific data to prove some type of proactive measurement or a proactive management plan. I will not go through the nuts and bolts of the nine day rule which has been ploughed through almost to such an extent that it has exhausted many people.
I acknowledge the Minister's involvement but we, along the north-west coast, will have to start to invest in research. Research was done in the Irish Sea but it has not been carried out along the north-west coast. I call for investment in research involving the participants there, including the fishermen's association, because as I said they have in-depth expertise and knowledge. Bord Iascaigh Mhara and the Marine Institute are willing to see how they can move forward in terms of conservation. The measure in place in regard to the reduction in the fish mesh is contrary to conservation and sustainability. If we can collate all the anecdotal evidence and invest in research and if this Government is willing to do so, we will be in a position to say to the European Commission and Commissioner Fischler in December that the blunt instrument used this time is not a sustainable measure and that it is totally contradictory to any type of reasonable and logical conservation measure.
We must use December as a milestone, or a watershed, when we can turn the situation around. We cannot, however, go to the European Commission unless we have scientific data. The fishermen's lobby groups, the fishermen's associations, are willing to participate because they have in-depth knowledge and expertise beyond any I have, even though I was born on the coast. They are willing to participate and to enter into some type of partnership in regard to research with BIM and the Marine Institute to look at a long-term proactive management plan for the Irish coast. I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House.