Irish fishermen to lose €800m in revenue due to new EU-UK Brexit fishery deal
The claim was made by the CEO of the Irish Fish Producers Organisation, Aodh O' Donnell, who represents the majority fishermen in the country, in an interview with the Sunday Mirror.
He warned: "The current EU quota allocations are disastrous for Ireland's coastal communities and an indictment of ongoing and systemic injustice at EU level.
"By June of this year Irish fishermen were forced to stop targeted sole fishing in the Celtic Sea because they were given less than 5pc of the EU quota there.
"In contrast Belgian vessels will continue to fish Celtic Sea sole, benefiting from a staggering 87pc of the total EU quota in that fishing zone.
"The imbalance continues in the Irish nSea where Belgian fleets hold 59pc of the EU quota - almost three times Ireland's 20pc share.
"To put this disparity in context Belgium has a 67 km coastline while the Irish coastline is over 3,100k, so we deserve bitter not small quotas. Irish fishing interests have been repeatedly sidelined by Brussels."
Mr O'Donnell said the extension of the current EU-UK fishery arrangements, initially brought in after Brexit, means a staggering 40pc of the value of quotas transferred to the UK come from Ireland alone.
He warned: "In a hammer blow to Ireland's coastal communities this deal will now be rolled over until 2038.
"It has already cost our industry 180 million euros to date but losses will total an estimated 800 million by 2038. The burden was never shared fairly and now this inequity appears to be locked in for another 12 years.
"The Irish Fish Producers Organisation has rightly questioned why Ireland was singled out to carry such a disproportionate burden. Ireland holds 12pc of EU waters but receives less than 6pc of the quotas.
"The Irish mackerel fleet alone has lost 26pc of its quota while the Dublin Bay Prawns fleet has lost 15pc. This injustice cannot stand. The Irish Government must urgently meet with the European Commission and demand a full rebalancing of the Brexit burden.
"We cannot accept a continuation of a policy that sacrifices Irish fishers and the communities they sustain.
"Our coastal and rural communities cannot afford another decade of neglect. We owe it to them to fight with urgency and determination, for a fair deal and a viable future."
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