Ahern must reveal details of fisheries deal — Coveney

Fine Gael's marine spokesman, Mr Simon Coveney today called on the Minister for the Marine, Mr Dermot Ahern to clarify the outcome…

Fine Gael's marine spokesman, Mr Simon Coveney today called on the Minister for the Marine, Mr Dermot Ahern to clarify the outcome of negotiations in Brussels last week on the issue of the Irish Box.

Last week Ireland voted to support a proposal reducing fleet sizes and removing fishing entitlements from Irish vessels in the form of "tonnage" at an EU management committee meeting.

Industry figures have warned that this could result in losses of up to 120 million euro by Irish vessel owners.

"There is still serious uncertainty and confusion as to the net result of the fisheries talks in Brussels last week," MR Covney said.

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"Minister Ahern must without any further delay inform the industry about the result of the talks that took place on the tonnage issue, and the consequences that this will have for the Irish industry."

"It is unacceptable to keep the fishing industry in the dark after discussions have taken place on such a serious issue that may result in the Irish fleet losing a significant amount of tonnage, and which could lead to a 15% cut in the size of the Irish fleet," Mr Covney said.