Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 26 June 2014
169. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the way he sees that the recently announced seafood sector support funding will assist Kerry seafood operators; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27724/14]
View answerOn 14 May I launched a package of national measures aimed at supporting and developing Ireland’s inshore fisheries. Inshore fisheries are particularly important to small-scale coastal communities and a significant proportion of Ireland’s inshore fleet operate off the Kerry coast. There are now 2 development schemes dedicated to supporting the inshore fisheries sector which, taken together, represent a package of €1m and provide opportunities to develop in a sustainable way into the future. This funding is in addition to the €600,000 in co-funding by the Government and the European Fisheries Fund available to the inshore sector through the FLAGs and represents a significant investment in the future of Ireland’s rural, coastal communities, right around the coast.
The package includes an enhanced Shellfish Pot Replacement Scheme, building on the scheme I originally announced in February 2014. The Shellfish Pot Replacement Scheme administered by BIM is providing 40% of the cost of replacing these lost pots through fixed payments of €24 per lobster/crab pot and €12 per shrimp pot. Due to the limited uptake of the scheme, I have now more than doubled the pot limits from 50 to 200 for boats less than 12m length and from 100 to 250 for boats from 12 to 15m in length. Existing applicants to the current scheme will automatically be increased to the supplementary pot limits and a call for new applications will be advertised.
In addition to replacing lost gear, our inshore sector needs to be encouraged to develop in a smart, sustainable way, to take advantage of the valuable asset that is Ireland’s coastal waters. How seafood is caught today is an important part of ensuring that responsible inshore fishing is commercially attractive into the future. The new Sustainable Inshore Fisheries Scheme will provide funding for environmentally-friendly fishing gear and equipment, and support for improvements in the areas of quality, hygiene, and standards on board. In addition the scheme will increase the grant aid for voluntary v-notching lobsters from the existing maximum of 55% to a new maximum of 75% to entice more fishermen to participate in this worthwhile conservation activity.
In relation to co-funding from the European Union, Ireland must prepare an Operational Programme in order to avail of co-financing from the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund. Following months of intense lobbying and negotiation, I announced on 12 June 2014 that I had secured €148 million from the new Fund for the period 2014 to 2020 for the development of the Irish seafood industry and the coastal communities that depend upon it. This funding is more than double the amount that was available to Ireland during the last Common Fisheries Policy and will ensure a strong seafood industry in Ireland that can grow and expand to meet its potential up to 2020.
Ireland’s EMFF allocation is to be provided through 5 discrete funding envelopes, namely €71 million for investment in the seafood industry, €32 million for data collection, €37 million for control and enforcement, €5 million for implementation of the Integrated Maritime Policy, and €1.3 million for storage aid. I will be discussing with the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform in the near future Exchequer matching funding, having regard to the general budgetary situation for the coming years.
Many investment measures that may be included within the new Operational Programme have the potential to contribute to job creation in peripheral coastal communities in Kerry, including in particular capital grants to support growth and expansion of seafood processing and aquaculture enterprises and capital allocations to Fishery Local Action Groups for dispersal to projects within their coastal areas. Any allocation to these measures is subject to final decisions on overall priorities for the seafood sector and to ex-ante evaluation by independent consultants of the appropriateness of such measures.
