Delays in issuing fishing licences

Under the UK/EU Brexit deal the rights to reciprocal cross-border access for inshore waters were preserved.

However, fishing boats must be licensed by the respective UK or Irish authorities and this has not yet happened, resulting in a complete loss of income for some families who are dependent on the industry.

Ms Bradley said: “Whilst some in the political arena are fixated on ‘getting rid’ of the Brexit protocol others are focused on making it work. The SDLP stance is particularly important to the fishing industry who have secured a trading advantage within the agreed Brexit protocol. The local fishing industry is also reliant on the reciprocal arrangements that allows access to Irish waters.”

The South Down MLA continued: “It is concerning that the required licenses for this arrangement have yet to be released by any party. As part of our efforts to make Brexit work the SDLP will be working with licensing authorities in Dublin and London to ensure they honour the agreement in a swift fashion. It is simply unacceptable that any fishing family should be hit by any bureaucratic stand off or delay.”