I thank the Deputy for his commentary, overview and assessment, and for his engagement over the last period of time in regard to fisheries issues and, in particular, in regard to Rossaveal. With regard to the designation, up to Christmas Eve, it was not clear whether Northern Ireland-registered vessels would be able to fish in Irish waters. As the Deputy knows, it was widely reported there was a 50% chance of a Brexit deal. Thankfully, we had a deal on Christmas Eve and that means those boats will be able to contin…

I am very well aware of the issue in Rossaveal. Deputy Ó Cuív has raised it with me on several occasions and is constantly pushing on it. I will continue to assess the situation. I fought very hard on the Porcupine Bank at the EU fisheries Council meeting in December and we will return to it at the next EU Council meeting. I hope we will have additional quota between now and the end of March to increase our prawn fishery in the Porcupine Bank. On the common fisheries policy, I have clearly outlined that I will fort…

I thank Deputy Murphy for his wholehearted good wishes and congratulations. Today's topic is fisheries and Brexit. I realise that is not a big subject in the Deputy's constituency and hence his focus on other issues. He has raised a number of issues and I will ensure that a written response is provided to him.

I thank Deputy Calleary for his very considered and thoughtful insight into the challenge facing the fishing sector, in particular the challenges and difficulties it has had to navigate over recent months and the important juncture we are at in ensuring that we have a strong, sustainable and healthy fishing sector and industry into the future. Given the challenging times there have been and especially given the timing of Brexit, I know the Deputy will join me in acknowledging the effort and commitment of the staff …

I thank Deputy Mythen for his comments. With regard to quota share, as he will have heard from my previous contributions, it is an issue I have been taking up at EU level with my colleagues and with the Commission, and I will continue to do so. I will be seeking constructive approaches with regard to the fact that there is an additional burden on Ireland in terms of the outcome from the trade and co-operation agreement and to try to look at methods as to how we might mitigate that. On the Deputy's final point about…

As long as it is from Mayo, a Cheann Comhairle.

The review of the Common Fisheries Policy is to be completed by the end of next year. The engagement on that will be starting later this year, but in the short term, in terms of the impact and the result from Brexit, my priority will be to ensure that that impact and burden on Ireland is made clear at European level. I will also look for constructive ways in which we can have that addressed, working with the EU Commission.

I think it would be more appropriate if Deputy Tóibín wrote to me with the particular matters that he has raised. I do not think it is appropriate for me to address this on the floor of the House.

From the outset, all of us nationally and in the fishing sector were concerned about the potential impact that Brexit could have on the fisheries sector. The Deputy is aware of how taking back the fish quota, reclaiming their waters and all of the fish caught by an EU fleet was made to be a number one priority by the British Government. The approach taken here was resolute and strong. We worked with our domestic sector to ensure that we spoke with one voice and to make sure that we spoke with one voice at a Europea…

I made it clear in my first response that we fought tooth and nail as a nation to ensure that there would be no loss of fish. That was what we were looking for. The British Government's approach was to take back 100% of all fish caught. Throughout the negotiation, our approach was to hold tight and not give anything up. Unfortunately at the end, in order for a deal to happen, there was this outcome. It was not at the scale of a no-deal scenario, where our fisheries would have lost access to where we catch one third…

As the Deputy will be aware, if he has been listening to me over the last months and again today, our position at all times has been to defend the fishing sector tooth and nail, because we very much value it. It might be easy to present that as a sell-out. Our approach was to ensure that it was prioritised. If the Deputy has been assessing how the negotiation evolved and the Brexit debate from the outset in Britain, they emphasised how they were coming after their fish and it was a priority, while our priority at a…

I know that the questions concern beef, and that is perfectly good with me.

Is my microphone live?

We are all supposed to wear a mask as much as we can.

If the Deputy was paying attention to the budget last October, he would have seen that I delivered an 11% increase in the agriculture budget for the year ahead, based on the previous year. That was so that we can ensure that many of the schemes that are key to our farming sector can continue at full capacity and with ongoing payments. There was also an additional €79 million of fresh funding allocated in order to develop a new environmental pilot scheme and measures. As the Deputy knows, I am very committed to deve…

I will address the issues raised by Deputy Fitzmaurice first. As he is aware, pillar 1 payments are 100% EU-funded. There is no capacity for domestic funds to be allocated towards it.

The overall EU budget has been increased in monetary terms. Also, as the Deputy is aware, and as I pointed out previously, in the most recent national budget I delivered an 11% increase from last year, which was important overall.

On the question of machinery, there is currently an issue in respect of ensuring that paperwork is complete. Unfortunately, there are many additional administrative burdens as a result of Brexit. It is challenging as those adjustments are made. On the points raised by Deputy Pringle on the designation of ports, they were designated for illegal, unregulated and unreported, IUU, purposes and North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission purposes. There is oversight in place. Staff infrastructure is required to be able to …

There were three years of negotiations. The actual outcome of that was achieved on Christmas Eve. That made clear that authorisations would be required. As I said earlier, the departmental staff were working right up to late on New Year's Eve to get those authorisations out and put in tremendous work within the time involved. On the Deputy's final point that a no-deal Brexit would have been better for fishermen, we must recognise that one third of our fish were caught in British waters. In the negotiations, we disc…

This is the opportunity to correct the record of the House regarding my contribution to statements on the level 5 response to Covid-19, which took place on Friday, 23 October, here in the convention centre. I previously referred to this matter at a meeting of the Joint Committee on Agriculture and the Marine and I want to comment on it again now. On the date in question, I took the opportunity to update the House on a notice issued by my Department for the hand sanitiser product, ViraPro. I indicated that prelimina…