Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 3 June 2020
778. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the contingency measures he has put in place to support farmers in the event of a failure to reach agreement in the Brexit trade deal talks; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9145/20]
View answerMy Department's Brexit preparedness work has resulted in various measures being taken over the last three budgets to help the agri-food and fisheries sectors mitigate the impact of Brexit, including through the provision of low cost loans such as the €300 million Future Growth Loan Scheme and increased budgetary supports to Bord Bia for market diversification efforts in order to reduce the sector’s exposure to the UK market.
Budget 2020 made €110 million available as a first tranche to be deployed in the event of a hard Brexit to help farmers, fishermen and food SMEs navigate the challenges that a "No Deal" Brexit would present. These measures proposed the provision of immediate support for our beef sector (€85 million), support for a ‘tie-up’ scheme for our fishing fleet (€14 million), support for a Food Transformation capital investment scheme (€5 million with further funding from the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation) and support to other sectors to improve competitiveness and environmental efficiency (€6 million). In light of the EU and UK agreeing the revised Withdrawal Agreement, these budgetary measures were not deployed.
Additionally, in 2019, my Department introduced the Beef Exceptional Aid Measure (BEAM) which was introduced in recognition of a very difficult year for the beef sector and a prolonged period of price uncertainty arising for various reasons, including Brexit.
My officials and I are continuing with our Brexit preparedness work, within a whole-of-Government effort, to ensure the best possible outcome for the agri-food and fisheries sectors. Over the coming months, this will include increased engagement and more focused communication with stakeholders around preparedness for a ‘no agreement’ outcome at the end of 2020, as well as an assessment of the potential economic impacts of such an outcome.
