Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 24 February 2021
1052. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the amount paid out to shell fish aqua farmers in 2020 to support them through the Covid-19 crisis; the number of successful applicants for these support schemes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9581/21]
View answer1053. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of applications received for the Covid-19 support scheme for shell fish farmers in 2020; the number of successful applicants; the main reasons applications were rejected for this scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9582/21]
View answer1055. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the scale of the drop in current farmed oyster prices compared to 2019; the steps he plans to take to support the aquaculture farmers affected; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9584/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 1052, 1053 and 1055 together.
I am advised by Bord Iascaigh Mhara that latest Eurostat data indicates the overall value of exports from Ireland of live fresh oysters was down 31% in 2020 to a value of €24m, with the volume of exports down 42%. This points to an actual increase in the price per kilo being achieved, but I understand that this is a result of sales being found for high grade premium stock rather than an uplift in the market.
My Department's European Maritime and Fisheries Fund Programme 2014-2020 provides financial supports for the sustainable development of our seafood sector. Supports to aquaculture producers under the EMFF Programme, including for capital investment, innovation, professional advisory services and organic certification have continued to be available throughout the Pandemic and demand from producers for these grants has remained strong.
On 22 October 2020, I announced a COVID-19 Aquaculture Support Scheme under the EMFF Programme, to be administered by BIM, and designed to compensate oyster and rope mussel producers for the reduction in sales and production in 2020, compared to 2019, arising from the COVID-19 Pandemic. The Scheme closed in November with 181 aquaculture enterprises applying. Payments ranged from €6,800 to €16,300 for oyster producers and from €1,300 to €9,000 for rope mussel producers. Details of the status of these applications are set out in the below table:
|
Category |
No. |
|
Applications Received |
181 |
|
Applications in receipt of support to date |
135 |
|
Applications currently under assessment/processing |
21 |
|
Applications deemed ineligible |
25 |
|
Value of payments processed in 2020 |
€1,169,175.72 |
The terms and conditions of the Scheme provided that it was available only to those producers who were compliant with certain legal obligations that apply to all aquaculture producers, namely compliance with their aquaculture and foreshore licences and with the requirement in law to submit economic data on their operations to Bord Iascaigh Mhara through an annual Aquaculture Production and Employment Survey. The Scheme required that applicants must have complied with the economic data requirements for each of the three previous years, unless they were a recent entrant to the sector who would not have been in production for those three years.
I am advised by BIM that the principal reasons for applications being unsuccessful related to applicants being unable to satisfy these mandatory conditions of the Scheme, relating to their obligations in law. In addition, some applicants had submitted multiple applications and the Scheme allowed only one application per producer.
As the Pandemic continues and its impacts on markets continue to evolve and change, I am keeping the range of supports under review, in the context of the suite of Government horizontal supports that continue to be available.
