An Independent Unionist councillor from Kilkeel, Co Down has said that the impounding of two Northern Ireland fishing boats by the Irish Navy has created distrust.
Cllr Henry Reilly told RTE’s Morning Ireland that it appeared “politics were being played” as previously the Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Tánaiste Simon Coveney had said they were going to resolve the issue of fishing rights.
Northern Irish boats are currently prohibited from fishing inside the Republic of Ireland’s territorial limit while vessels from the Republic can fish in Northern Ireland waters.
Up until 2016, under the “Voisinage agreement” dating back to the 1960s, there was a “gentleman’s agreement” where fishing vessels from both sides of the Border enjoyed reciprocal rights in Irish territorial waters.
However, the deal broke down following a successful legal challenge to the agreement in the Supreme Court in Dublin in 2016. The court ruled Voisinage was an informal agreement of insufficient legal standing to formally grant access to foreign-registered boats.
That decision effectively banned Northern Ireland boats from fishing in Irish inshore waters. The UK has continued to recognise the Voisinage agreement so Irish vessels remain free to fish inshore waters around Northern Ireland.
Cllr Reilly said people in Kilkeel were “stunned” at what had happened.
He questioned the commitment of the Taoiseach and Tánaiste to an all-island economy “having told us they were going to protect us.”
There was a good relationship between the fishing communities on both sides of the border, he said. Fishing families in Kilkeel and Clogherhead see each other as colleagues and friends, he added.
"We don’t differentiate between southern boats and ours. We have southern boats coming up here all the time.
Cllr Reilly said he supported the repatriation of UK waters and would like to see Ireland included in that. Irish fishing waters are being “totally exploited” by other European countries, he said.
“They are causing catastrophic environmental damage to Irish waters.”
He said he’d like to see terms of cooperation about the management of fisheries in waters off the coast of Ireland.
