Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 3 June 2020
763. Deputy Brendan Howlin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason it is a condition of the voluntary fleet support scheme that vessel owners surrender their fishing licence to him; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8598/20]
View answerI announced on 8 May, a Covid-19 Temporary Fleet Tie-up Scheme for fishing vessels in the Polyvalent, Beam Trawl and Specific segments of the fleet, to be implemented under Ireland’s European Maritime and Fisheries Fund Operational Programme 2014-20, co-funded by the Government of Ireland and the European Union. The purpose of the scheme is to address the supply of fish to market so as to better balance the supply of fish from these vessels to the available market demand for these fish. The Scheme will be operational from 1 June and will allow vessel owners of fishing vessels to voluntarily opt to tie up for a maximum of two months over the period June to August.
The Scheme will support the fixed costs incurred by the vessel owners and is designed to complement the Covid-19 wage supports and loan arrangements already being provided by Government to the fishing sector and indeed other sectors of our economy. The supports to fixed costs available under the Scheme range from €6,000 per month for a maximum of two months for the very largest vessels over 24 metres, to €500 per month for a maximum of two months for the very smallest vessels under 6 metres in length. More details available at the following link: http://www.bim.ie/schemes/covid-19-temporary-fleet-tie-up-scheme/
The Scheme is implemented under article 33 of the EMFF Regulation (508/2014) which requires that beneficiaries of aid for temporary tie-up suspend all fishing activity for the tie-up period and that the competent authority satisfy itself that the fishing vessel has stopped fishing. To comply with these regulatory requirements, it is appropriate that certain terms and conditions apply to the scheme, including surrender of fishing licence to the local BIM office at the start of the tie-up period. The licence can be immediately reclaimed when the tie-up period ends.
