My Department's €240 million European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) Operational Programme is the vehicle for financial supports to our seafood sector for the period 2014 to 2020. The Programme delivers a wide range of supports for aquaculture, fisheries and seafood processing through a suite of 18 schemes.
Some €147.6 million in EU funds are allocated to Ireland from the EMFF Fund. The Government co-finances the Programme to the amount of €91.7 million, making a total of €240 million. The following table sets out the annual allocation to Ireland from the EMFF Fund. A further €8.8 million is held in reserve by the European Commission as part of the Performance Framework and this will be allocated to Ireland once certain milestones and targets have been achieved.
|
2014 €m
|
2015
€m
|
2016 €m
|
2017 €m
|
2018 €m
|
2019
€m
|
2020
€m
|
Total
€m
|
EU Allocation
|
0.0
|
38.3
|
19.4
|
19.7
|
20.2
|
20.3
|
20.7
|
138.6
|
The following table sets out details of the total expenditure (EU and National) by year.
|
2014/15
€m
|
2016
€m
|
2017
€m
|
2018
€m
|
Expenditure
|
12
|
18
|
28
|
43
|
Any unused funds allocated to the EMFF OP and committed by the end of 2020 can be recouped from the EU Commission up to the end of 2023. This is known as the "N+3 rule". In practice, this means that the Commission’s annual budget allocation to Ireland must be claimed in full by the end of the third financial year following the allocation. Any portion of this commitment remaining unclaimed at the end of the 3-year period would be automatically decommitted by the Commission and lost to Ireland. My Department has met the N+3 rule to date and is in a good position to continue to do so. The N+3 rule is a rolling process and will continue throughout the Programme.
I anticipate that Ireland will drawdown all of the available EAFF funds.