An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business
Seanad Éireann — 2026-01-27
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Manus Boyle (FG), Nominated by the Taoiseach

I also want to extend my deepest sympathies to the Crowley family and to the Cathaoirleach.
Today I want to ask the Leader if he could get an answer from the Minister of State with responsibility for the marine as to when the new committee will be set up under the chairmanship of Michael Berkery. There have been massive cuts in the fishing industry which are unprecedented and the coastal communities in Ireland are really under pressure. We were told in December that this committee would be set up under Michael Berkery and would be up and running in January but, to my knowledge, nothing has happened. We do not even know if the committee has terms of reference or what is going on here. A lot of people are affected by what is going on including boat owners, fishermen and fisherwomen, factory owners and factory workers. They all need to be taken into consideration. These people want to work but the work is not there, so social welfare must be brought into this as well. We have to look after these people. The time for talking is over. We need urgent action. When is the committee going to be set up? What are the terms of reference? When will we get the findings? The service industries have to be included in the terms of reference too.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-01-27/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:33+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-01-27