Sinn Féin MEP calls for reform of Common Fisheries Policies

A SINN Féin MEP and European candidate has called for a reform of the Common Fisheries Policies and for the Irish fishing industry to be rebuilt with a new vision.

Sinn Féin MEP for Midlands Northwest, Chris MacManus MEP, also accused successive Irish Governments of letting down fishing and coastal communities while speaking at the fisheries hustings in Killybegs, organised by the Irish Fish Producers Organisation (IFPO), the Irish Fish Processors and Exporters Association (IFPEA) and the Killybegs Fishermen’s Organisation.

“The Irish fishing industry and Ireland’s coastal communities have been badly let down by successive Irish Governments and by the European Union.

“The Irish fishing industry needs Sinn Féin and our elected representatives to stand up for them and challenge every decision-making body that we can – in Brussels and in the Dáil.

“We will be your voice, your eyes and your ears in Europe and in Ireland. We will fight for fair quotas for Irish fishermen instead of scraps. We will seek to rebuild the Irish fishing industry with a new vision, to reform the Common Fisheries Policies and to oppose overregulation,” he said.

The Sligo-based MEP said that the campaign by teenager Muireann Kavanagh from Arranmore Island in Co Donegal had exposed the injustice of the Common Fisheries Policy and the failings of the Irish government.

“I hosted a delegation of leading fishermen and processors from around Ireland to the European Parliament in 2022 when they brought their case directly to the EU Commission. More recently, I have stood with young Muireann Kavanagh, the teenage campaigner from Arranmore, as she exposed the injustice of the Common Fisheries Policy and the failings of our own government.

“I will continue this work if re-elected. Sinn Féin will seek to take permanent membership on the Fisheries Committee.

“Sinn Féin have committed to a dedicated Minister of State for Fisheries and the Marine in any future Sinn Féin led Government that will reorganise the Department of Marine and headquarter them back to Dublin to be managed and accountable to that Minister.

“We need a reset in Brussels, in the Irish Government and in the Government Department that will stand up for, defend, show pride and rebuild a successful Irish fishing industry,” concluded MacManus.