Deputy Pat the Cope Gallagher has said he was shocked by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar’s stance on the Rockall debate this week.
The ongoing dispute between the Scottish Government and Ireland over fishing rights to the waters around Rockall was raised in Dáil Éireann this week as tensions surround the claim of ownership to the rock.
There are fears that Irish and EU vessels will no longer be able to fish near the Atlantic rock 200miles off Donegal after Brexit.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar did not clearly defend Ireland’s claim to Rockall during Dáil debates on Wednesday. This shocked Donegal deputy Pat the Cope Gallagher, who said: “Previously all Taoisigh defended an Irish claim to Rockall and to the waters surrounding Rockall but that tradition was broken by An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar in Dáil Eireann.”
Mr Varadkar told the Dáil: “We accept that Rockall is in the United Kingdom’s exclusive economic zone – everyone does – but what we do not accept is that Rockall has a 12-mile exclusive limit around it.
“For so long as the United Kingdom is part of the European Union, these are European waters and Irish fishermen are entitled to fish for their quota and for non-quota species in any part of that UK exclusive economic zone, but obviously with Brexit that will change.”
Following these comments, Pat the Cope Gallagher said: “No previous Irish Government ever ceded our claim to Rockall, nor did they ever recognise the claim made by the British to sovereignty over Rockall, it has always been an area of disagreement between the UK and Ireland – along with the sovereign states of Iceland and the Faroe Islands in conjunction with Denmark who also dispute the UK claim to Rockall.
“I am also raising the issue of the 2013 Agreement reached between Ireland and the United Kingdom regarding the setting of the sea boundaries between the Irish Exclusive Economic Zone and that of the UK. I am seeking clarity surrounding all possible implications of that agreement reached by the previous Fine Gael Government in 2013, of which Minister Simon Coveney was Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine at the time of signing this agreement with the UK. There is a possibility that there may be knock-on implications of that agreement from 2013 in the context of the current dispute and that urgently needs to be clarified,” he said.
The Leas Cheann Comhairle says this is an ‘extremely tense time’ for Irish fishermen. He has called on the government to be more proactive preparing for fisheries talks between the European Union and the United Kingdom.