Tony Killeen, Irish Minister of State with responsibility for Fisheries in the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, has begun a series of meetings with fishermen on the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP).
The meetings are taking place this week in Killybegs, Galway, Dunmanway and Dublin with a further meeting in Waterford in the coming fortnight. These will offer fishermen the opportunity to set out their own experiences of the CFP and outline the changes they are seeking to reform the policy. The outcome of these meetings will be compiled by Dr Cawley, who was appointed by Minister of State Killeen last May to oversee consultations with stakeholders on the CFP reform, into a formal report to be presented to the Minister of State to inform Ireland's national position which must be submitted to the EU Commission by the 31 December.
Minister of State Killeen said "this review of the CFP offers a great opportunity to Irish fishermen to take stock of where we are and to identify the changes they consider will help address shortcomings in the policy, and so take better account of the needs and priorities of Irish fishermen. I intend to listen closely to fishermen who are best placed to understand the problems with the current policy and suggest changes."
