Michael Desmond, Chairman of the National Inshore Fishermen’s Association (NIFA), has said fishing communities must no longer be treated as a commodity to be frittered away until there is little or nothing left, after correspondence from Minister of State Timmy Dooley raised questions over the conduct of a senior official within the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).
Speaking on behalf on NIFA’s members, Desmond said that for decades, Ireland’s fishing and seafood families have watched their industry decline while successive governments and administrations failed to adequately protect the communities whose livelihoods depend upon it. By the 2024 General Election, he said, the deterioration of the sector could no longer be ignored.
The Programme for Government recognised the importance of fisheries and marine matters to Ireland’s future and to the coastal communities whose livelihoods depend on the sector. It also made the deliberate and significant decision to establish a dedicated Minister of State role for Fisheries and Marine. “That decision should have marked a turning point,” Desmond said.
Questions Over DAFM Correspondence
Instead, Desmond said, Minister Dooley’s recent correspondence raises extremely serious questions about what was happening within DAFM. “The Minister refers to reservations from a senior official regarding the Government’s decision to provide dedicated political representation for fisheries and marine,” he said. “More seriously, he states that efforts were subsequently made by a senior DAFM official to discourage his efforts to protect Ireland’s Hague Preferences ahead of the December 2025 Council of Ministers meeting.”
“If that account is correct, the fishing industry deserves answers,” Desmond said.
Desmond posed three questions: why a senior official would have reservations about fisheries and marine receiving stronger political representation; why efforts would be made to discourage a Minister from defending fishing opportunities that are of enormous importance to Ireland; and whether the same senior official was involved in both instances.
“Legitimate Questions of Accountability”
“These are legitimate questions of accountability and democratic oversight,” Desmond said. “Ireland’s fishing industry cannot afford internal resistance to Government policy at a time when coastal communities are already fighting for survival.”
Minister Dooley has invested considerable time, energy and political capital in engaging with the sector and attempting to address problems that have accumulated over decades, Desmond said, and that work must not be undermined from within the very Department charged with supporting the industry.
Cabinet Must Back the Minister
Desmond said the Minister must have the full backing of Cabinet to exercise the authority of his office and implement Government policy for fisheries and marine. “Civil servants have an essential role in advising Government,” he said. “But ultimately, policy is determined by democratically elected Government and Ministers must be able to carry out that mandate.”
“Ireland’s fishing communities have waited long enough,” Desmond said. “They deserve transparency. They deserve accountability. And above all, they deserve a Government and Department that will fight for their future rather than manage their decline.”
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