Debate contribution: Fishing Industry: Ardglass

Debate contribution by Mr Colin McGrath on 26 November 2024.

MLA

Mr Colin McGrath

Party at the time

Social Democratic and Labour Party

Date

26 November 2024

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Adjournment

Heading

Fishing Industry: Ardglass

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4677689

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I thank my constituency colleague for securing the Adjournment debate. I am going to focus on people, place and product, and I will highlight how the Executive, some local representatives and the London Government are letting down our fishing industry, those who work in it and the people of Ardglass. It is about people, place and product. I will start with people. Everyone knows that the fishing industry is a tough trade, with long hours and time away from home. I am full of admiration for those who work in it, because it is hard graft. Getting staff can be a challenge. It can be, for parts of the year, not the most permanent of roles, and it is heavily weather dependent. Securing local people to work in it has always been a challenge. That is why the industry has had to look overseas, some parts of it to Europe and other parts of it further afield, for workers. Visas for seasonal workers has been a real note of concern for those in Ardglass. As with many issues, Brexit and its architects are culpable for creating havoc where, previously, there was some stability. Following Brexit, the UK recognised exemptions for non-EEA seasonal staff who were involved in the edible horticultural sector. However, it did not recognise fish processing as being part of that industry. Everyone involved in the sector, particularly those in Ardglass, knows that fishing and, by extension, fish processing are seasonal. The industry in Ardglass depends upon having seasonal staff. They are a lifeline that it depends upon. Just last week, there was a debate in Westminster on that very matter, which was secured by my colleague Claire Hanna MP. Where was the MP for South Down? Where was Sinn Féin to fight for the industry last week in the place where it was needed? I know that Sinn Féin says that it will work with people in Belfast, Dublin and Brussels so that those in fisheries and farming can get the best possible deal. Given that Sinn Féin has secured this Adjournment debate, what has been the result of those efforts? As a member of the Opposition, I was proud to secure an Adjournment debate at the beginning of October. That was to hold the Agriculture Minister to account, and I continue to do that. Since then, however, South Down's Alliance MLA has secured an Adjournment debate that was directed at a Sinn Féin Minister, and we now have one of South Down's Sinn Féin MLAs securing an Adjournment debate that is directed at an Alliance Minister. Unless I am mistaken, next week, we will have an Adjournment debate, secured by the DUP Member for South Down, that is directed at a Sinn Féin Minister. Yet, all of you guys are in the Executive together. You could work together to effect change, instead of coming in here for Adjournment debates. The fishing industry in South Down is under serious pressure, but there is a pathway for relieving it and we must all work together to do so. What we do not have is the political buy-in from those parties that could make a difference to fishermen's lives. The Executive and some local parties are letting down the people of Ardglass. What about place? What about the infrastructure changes that could make the industry more sustainable, help make the work of loading and unloading easier and ensure that the harbour can deal with bigger boats? In the previous mandate, then Minister Poots's announcement that he was establishing the fisheries and seafood development programme was welcomed by everyone across the political spectrum. The programme then stalled because of the collapse of the institutions. Upon restoration in February of this year, there was real hope in the sector that our new Agriculture Minister would commit to progressing the programme once more. I appreciated the fact that, in March, the Minister met representatives from the sector in Ardglass and heard about their concerns, but there was little by way of concrete action taken, as he had to await the budget allocation from the Sinn Féin Finance Minister. When, following that budget allocation, it became clear that the fisheries and seafood development programme had not got its funding and would therefore have to drift a little and progress merely to the next stage, I wrote to the Minister to ask for an update on the funding position. His response stated that the £1·2 million needed could not be found to progress the works and that he would have to seek the funding through in-year monitoring. I look forward to hearing in his speech whether we will have that £1·2 million to make progress with the programme. On people and place, the Executive are not delivering and are therefore letting down the people of Ardglass. Finally, I will deal with product. We have known for years that quotas are hard to come by. Restrictions are placed on what can be caught and where, and a catch often has to be tipped back into the sea. Somehow, the industry has always managed to get by. It has survived through fishermen's grit. The situation has changed, however. We know that there are difficulties on the horizon with herring quotas, for example. Moreover, there are fishermen who cannot get access to trawl Strangford lough. The level of disconnect between what the fishing industry can catch and process and what it is permitted to is massive. If that is not fixed, it could spell the end of the industry. On product, the Executive are also letting down the people of Ardglass. On people, place and product, the Government and some parties continue to let down the people of Ardglass. The time for all who are responsible for our fishing industry to step up and do something for it is now.

973 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 11:36 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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