Post European Council Meeting: Statements
Dail Éireann — 2026-01-14
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Michael Collins (II), Cork South-West

I would like to be able to give my time to Mercosur but time is tight and another dirty deal has been done in Europe, at the expense of Irish fishermen. The mackerel quota and the whitefish haddock quota has been pretty much wiped out and it is an absolute disaster for Ireland's coastal communities. The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea has recommended a cut to just 174,357 tonnes for 2026. That is a 70% drop from 576,958 tonnes last year. Despite that, Norway, the UK, the Faeroe Islands and Iceland have secured a combined total allowable catch of 299,000 tonnes, which is nearly double the scientific advice, while our fleet is being wiped out. While foreign supertrawlers come into Irish waters and take all our fish our lads are on the sidelines. Thanks to the failure to apply our Hague preferences Ireland's quota plummets from 39,914 tonnes to just 10,907 tonnes with an economic hit of about €48 million. With blue whiting, ICES is calling for a 41% cut yet we are watching others profit from our waters. Has the Minister of State proposed a meeting with President von der Leyen to address the failure of Hague preferences, the EU fisheries Commission and the protection of these stocks? They are systematic failures not minor errors. Ireland must fight back, launch a legal challenge and stand up for the big five corporations. Our fishermen deserve better.
I have another question on Mercosur that will take two seconds. Are MEPs Barry Andrews, Regina Doherty and Seán Kelly going to be whipped to vote no to Mercosur or are they backing the Ursula deal? The Minister of State needs to tell us that.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-01-14/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:30+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-01-14