Show and Tell Event – Issues for Government

  1. Renegotiation of CFP so that Fishing, Quotas & TAC’s should be governed by Zonal Attachment under UNCLOS Rules.
  1. The TCA Agreement between EU and UK was both unfair and unjust and did not reflect the Level Playing Pitch Rules of Relative Stability. This must be put right so that there is equal Burden Sharing throughout the Member States.
  1. On Enforcement, we submit that Penalty Points should only be applied to License Holders & Skippers following a Court Conviction.
  1. The revoking of Ireland’s Control Plan by the EU Commission on the basis of unproven and unprosecuted allegations against the entire Irish Fishing Industry must not be allowed to jeopardise Ireland’s reputation in the production of Premium Quality Fish. 
  1. Access to our Traditional fishing grounds of Rockall to be negotiated by Diplomatic means.
  1. The Migrant Workers Atypical Scheme governing non- EU/EEA Fishers must be reviewed to ensure a level playing-pitch for all those working in the Agri-food Sector.
  1. All workers who spend in excess of 24 hours at sea must be granted equal rights with all other workers under our Revenue & Taxation Laws.
  1. The acknowledgement by the EU Parliament, Commission & Council that because of the devastating consequences to some sectors as a result of TCA Agreement with UK, a Fund should be put in place and was so put in place, totalling Euros 5 Billion known as the Brexit Adjustment Reserve Fund – now known as the BAR Fund – of which Euros 1.2 Billion is said to be available to Ireland. The only Industry required to surrender 20% of its Natural Resources & Income is the Irish Fishing Industry and it is this enormous cut that has dictated that the largest portion of the BAR Fund should be allocated to the Irish Fishing Industry.

We as an industry are unable to absorb these Cuts and are now required by Europe to leave our industry and our way of life forever. We therefore demand that allocations from this Fund should reflect the grossly unfair, unjust and unlawful extermination of our way of life for 20% of the participants in our Industry – possibly as high as 40% in some sectors of the Industry. 

We therefore implore and suggest that the Boats, Licenses and Businesses taken from us by the stroke of a pen on Christmas Eve 2020 only be bought out as “going concerns” with compensation to be assessed and paid on the basis of the Losses that will accrue from generation to generation and year after year into eternity.