Eoghan Kenny warns of 57,000-tonne quota loss in EU deal
Eoghan Kenny spoke about the EU New Deal on fishing opportunities for 2026, warning it would cut 57,000 tonnes of quota and devastate over 2,300 industry jobs. He said the Labour Party will work constructively with Government for a fair fisheries policy and raised failures in state responses to the River Blackwater fish kill and governance problems at Inland Fisheries Ireland.
Eoghan Kenny told the Dáil that the loss of 57,000 tonnes of quota will have a hugely detrimental impact on more than 2,300 jobs in the fishing industry. He cited the Seafood Ireland Alliance estimate of a €100 million to €200 million loss in value for 2026 and warned of severe knock-on effects for coastal towns, local businesses, suppliers and restaurants, with rising costs passed to consumers while wages remain stagnant. He also linked concern about the EU deal to wider worries about other trade proposals, noting that recent EU news and the proposed Mercosur deal offer little hope for communities dependent on fisheries and agriculture.
He described the River Blackwater incident as the greatest fish kill ever seen in the country, with in excess of 40,000 fish killed by a chemical irritant. Kenny said multiple state bodies — Inland Fisheries Ireland, the EPA, Cork County Council and the Marine Institute — investigated but none had the optimum capacity to identify the chemical, and the source of the pollution remains unknown. He highlighted EPA site inspection findings that the Northcork Co-op creamery in Cantor discharged over 362,000 litres of wastewater in a 10-hour window with ammonia levels 52 times legal limits and that production was suspended amid a history of compliance failures.
Kenny urged that issues of pollution be rigorously investigated and stamped out nationwide, arguing that enforcement powers must be increased. He said that never once had an EPA licence been withdrawn in the State and insisted licences must be revoked where constant pollution occurs, saying the lack of sanctions and definitive answers undermines oversight and protection of rivers, fish and wildlife.
He pressed for the Programme for Government commitment to a full review of Inland Fisheries Ireland to be honoured without delay, citing serious governance failures revealed to the Public Accounts Committee. Kenny set out that seven separate investigations took place within IFI between 2021 and 2025 and raised specific issues including the use of uninsured vehicles and the provision of false insurance documentation passed to An Garda Síochána. He recounted an IFI staff member's 2021 car crash in Donegal and said the organisation knowingly allowed invalid insurance paperwork to be used and failed to inform the employee or the Gardaí, calling the conduct appalling and a symptom of a problematic culture.
Fisheries losses and economic impact
Eoghan Kenny told the Dáil that the loss of 57,000 tonnes of quota will have a hugely detrimental impact on more than 2,300 jobs in the fishing industry. He cited the Seafood Ireland Alliance estimate of a €100 million to €200 million loss in value for 2026 and warned of severe knock-on effects for coastal towns, local businesses, suppliers and restaurants, with rising costs passed to consumers while wages remain stagnant. He also linked concern about the EU deal to wider worries about other trade proposals, noting that recent EU news and the proposed Mercosur deal offer little hope for communities dependent on fisheries and agriculture.
River Blackwater fish kill and investigation failures
He described the River Blackwater incident as the greatest fish kill ever seen in the country, with in excess of 40,000 fish killed by a chemical irritant. Kenny said multiple state bodies — Inland Fisheries Ireland, the EPA, Cork County Council and the Marine Institute — investigated but none had the optimum capacity to identify the chemical, and the source of the pollution remains unknown. He highlighted EPA site inspection findings that the Northcork Co-op creamery in Cantor discharged over 362,000 litres of wastewater in a 10-hour window with ammonia levels 52 times legal limits and that production was suspended amid a history of compliance failures.
Calls for stronger enforcement and licence withdrawal
Kenny urged that issues of pollution be rigorously investigated and stamped out nationwide, arguing that enforcement powers must be increased. He said that never once had an EPA licence been withdrawn in the State and insisted licences must be revoked where constant pollution occurs, saying the lack of sanctions and definitive answers undermines oversight and protection of rivers, fish and wildlife.
Governance concerns at Inland Fisheries Ireland
He pressed for the Programme for Government commitment to a full review of Inland Fisheries Ireland to be honoured without delay, citing serious governance failures revealed to the Public Accounts Committee. Kenny set out that seven separate investigations took place within IFI between 2021 and 2025 and raised specific issues including the use of uninsured vehicles and the provision of false insurance documentation passed to An Garda Síochána. He recounted an IFI staff member's 2021 car crash in Donegal and said the organisation knowingly allowed invalid insurance paperwork to be used and failed to inform the employee or the Gardaí, calling the conduct appalling and a symptom of a problematic culture.
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Transcript
Firstly, in relation to the grave concerns in the fishing industry with the announcement of the New Deal from the EU on fishing opportunities for 2026. The loss of 57,000 tonnes of quota will without doubt have a hugely detrimental impact on the over 2,300 jobs in the industry. The Seafood Ireland Alliance has said that they expect somewhere between €100 and €200 million loss in value for 2026. Those are staggering figures and will have caused great concern and distress for those working in the sector in recent days. The knock-on effects of this deal will be far-reaching for coastal towns and communities across Ireland. Much like other agricultural industries in Ireland, the fisheries sector provides a platform for other sectors beyond its own. Local businesses, suppliers and restaurants will feel the effects of these changes. Costs of produce will increase, the cost of transportation and procuring stock will increase. These costs will cause serious difficulties for small businesses and invariably increases likes will be passed on to consumers and those working in the industry will see figures rise while their wages continue to remain stagnant. I have to say, news coming from the European Union between this deal and the proposed Mercosur deal does not provide much hope for communities that rely so much on the fisheries and agricultural sectors. When the ordinary worker in these industries looks at these proposals, when the consumer looks at these proposals, they can rightly wonder, are we considered in any of the high-up decision-making processes? The Labour Party will work constructively with Government to advocate for a fair and equitable fisheries policy that prioritises the livelihoods of Irish fishermen and women and the sustainability of our Marine Institute. Minister, I want to take this opportunity again on this floor to raise the backwater fish kill. This was an ecological disaster on a scale we have never seen before in my home town and I have to say both myself and anglers across the Munster region have little faith that this issue is being taken seriously by the state bodies involved. The River Blackwater was the scene of the greatest fish kill ever seen in this country. In excess of 40,000 fish were killed by a chemical irritant. This led to investigations by Inland Fisheries Ireland, the EPA, Cork County Council and the Marine Institute. With all these state bodies and local authority involved, not one had the optimum capacity of resources to identify the chemical, and thus the cause of the responsibility of the kill has not been found. It is worth noting, although the source of devolution is still unknown due to the lack of ability to identify the irritant, the Northcork Co-op creamery in Cantor came under scrutiny after the EPA published results of a site inspection conducted on the night of the fish kill. The findings revealed that over 362,000 litres of waste water were discharged into the river within a 10-hour window, with ammonia levels up 52 times above the legal limits. Since then, the creamery has been made suspended production due to this and a history of failure of consistently achieving compliance with its licensed discharge conditions. This is not just a Cantor or a Cork problem. Issues of pollution must be rigorously investigated and stamped out right across this country. If we are serious about protecting our environment, our rivers, our fish and our wildlife, then enforcement powers must be increased. Never once in this country was an EPA licence taken away. They must be withdrawn if constant pollution happens. We have had no sanctions or definitive answer for this. To be frank, it makes us a mockery of the idea that we have oversight. The bottom line is that we still do not know what killed upwards of 40,000 fish. This brings me on to Inland Fisheries Ireland. The programme for Government includes a clear commitment to carry out a full review of Inland Fisheries Ireland. That commitment must now be honoured in full and without further delay. This cannot be allowed to drift on while serious governance issues remain unresolved, complaints go unanswered and staff concerns continue to be raised internally and externally. I am sure, Minister, because you are the Minister, you would have seen the Public Accounts Committee meeting two weeks ago. As a member of that committee, it was deeply concerning to see basic governance and basic record keeping were all found wanting. This was not a minor oversight. It was a serious corporate governance failure. Following an answer to a parliamentary question from me last week, it emerged that seven separate investigations took place within the IFI between 2021 and 2025. That is a significant number for an organisation of this size and should immediately raise alarm bells for yourself and the Department. The issues I raised include the use of uninsured vehicles and the provision of false documentation to a staff member which was then in turn passed on to An Garda Siakana. These are not trivial matters. They point to a culture where rules are treated as optional and where staff are placed in impossible positions because of management failures. The facts laid before the committee two weeks ago were absolutely shocking by the IFI. A staff member of the IFI who was involved in a car crash in Donegal in August 2021. Following that accident, the IFI provided this employee with insurance documentation which they later found out on 16 November 2021 to be completely inaccurate. Despite knowing this, they failed to inform either the member of staff or An Garda Siakana that the documentation was false. They knowingly allowed a staff member to proceed with paperwork that they knew to be invalid. The employee only learned that the insurance documentation was invalid when he received a solicitor's letter from the other party involved in the car crash. This is an appalling way to treat anyone and for anyone to learn that an employer has exposed them to legal and personal risk. The bottom line is clear. The IFI knowingly failed to inform the guardee or their own staff member that a vehicle that they had was uninsured. This is disgraceful and completely inexcusable. Workers should never have to endure such an ordeal. The hearing added even more troubling revelations, Minister. The Acting Chief Executive told the committee before the break of the committee that he knew nothing of the findings of the External Investigation Commission by former Minister Eamon Ryan. Yet after the break of the committee meeting, he acknowledged that he was in attendance in the February 2025 board meeting where those findings were presented. While the findings may not have been discussed in detail, he failed to disclose that he knew that they had been received. It appeared he believed he could go through the entire committee meeting without acknowledging this. That is simply unacceptable. At the end of that committee meeting, former Acting Deputy CEO and now Head of Finance revealed that she had carried out a review of the report that the IFI had received in February 2025. Minister, I am calling on you to be brave with the IFI. Let this be your legacy in the Department of Fisheries. Do not let them continue in this vein. They have lost my support, they have lost the support of anglers, they have lost the support of the general public in this country. The IFI, as an organisation, Minister, needs to be disbanded and built up from the root again. Because it is a failed organisation, and do not put people in senior positions of the IFI who have been involved in controversy. Because this, Minister, will be the legacy of the IFI and of fisheries in this country. And this is an opportunity for you, Minister, to get the confidence of anglers back. Because the confidence of anglers is not there. So give it that opportunity now, Minister. Build the IFI back up to an organisation that can be trusted by members of the public. I want, Minister, for you, as I said from the outset, the horizon right now does not look bright for those working in the fisheries sector or anglers or those who use our water. But Minister, you have the opportunity now to change that. I actually know you will. Because I know you want to. And you will do it because you know that it will have great, great effect to this country and to those who use our rivers.