Vol. 487 No. 3
37 Mr. Deasy asked the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources if he will examine the case of a person (details supplied) in County Waterford who was grant aided by BIM for the replacement of a 33 year old fishing boat with a new one and who, on the advice of BIM, applied for EU funding but has not received this; and if he will ensure that grant aid is allocated immediately. [3750/98]
EU funding for the fishing fleet under Ireland's Operational Programme for Fisheries 1994-99 has not to date been allocated to new vessel purchases but has been directed exclusively towards the modernisation of existing vessels. Accordingly no EU funding could have been provided, or commitments given in relation to the likelihood of such funding, in the case of the applicant in question. The position was clarified to the applicant by BIM in 1996 and was further clarified to him by the Department by letter on two occasions last year.
The Deputy will be aware of my announcement last week of proposals for funding a capital grant aid scheme for a number of new vessels over the next three years. These proposals will be submitted to the EU Commission in the coming weeks. However, I believe that it is only right for me to confirm that this scheme will not, for obvious reasons, have retrospective application. Available funding under the scheme when approved by the Commission and related eligibility criteria will be targeted at new projects. It is better to be quite clear and upfront about this from the start to avoid raising expectations unfairly.
38 Mr. Timmins asked the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources if all grant allocations available from the EU for Irish boat owners were taken up. [3748/98]
I can advise the Deputy that, to date, EU funding support approved for fishing vessel modernisation projects under the Operational Programme for Fisheries, totals some £7 million. The total EU funding available up to 1999 to support fleet investment is just over £13 million.
