Pearse Doherty
Question:19. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance the cost of no longer explicitly excluding seafarers aboard fishing vessels from the entitlement to the seafarer's allowance. [7831/16]
View answerThursday, 21 April 2016
Questions (19)
Written answers
I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that the data available to them from tax returns does not provide a sufficient basis to identify the number of additional cases who would additionally qualify for the Seafarer's Allowance under the Deputy's suggestion. It is not possible therefore to provide a definitive estimate of the cost for such a change.
The Deputy may wish to note that state aid approval for the seafarer's allowance was given on the basis of the EU Guidelines on State Aid to the Maritime Transport sector, which provides exemptions for certain categories of shipping, and not for any other sector, including the fishing industry.
However on the basis of employments in the fishing industry cited in the Bord Iascaigh Mhara Strategy 2013 -2017 and making certain assumptions in relation to the eligibility for and usage of the allowance, it is tentatively estimated that the cost to the Exchequer of extending the seafarers allowance to seafarers aboard fishing vessels could be in the order of €11 million per annum.