Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 24 March 2021
1939. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if it will be ensured that the four fishermen (details supplied) who successfully won their court cases will have the option of availing of compensation or decommissioning schemes made available to their colleagues in other sectors in the time ahead. [13893/21]
View answerThe fisheries quota transfers to the UK, agreed as part of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement with the UK, will have impacts on certain segments of our fishing fleet, and on marine support services and coastal communities dependent on fishing. The quota reductions for Ireland are disproportionate compared to other Member States and will lead to a loss of €43 million per year in fish quotas when the reductions are fully phased in by 2026. Some of the quota reductions will begin to be felt by our fishing industry when the full annual EU quotas for 2021 are determined shortly.
I have established a Seafood Sector Taskforce, comprised of representatives of the seafood sector and other relevant actors, to examine the likely impacts and report to me with their recommendations for mitigation and support measures. The Taskforce will produce an interim report within two months, focusing on recommended arrangements for a voluntary fleet tie up scheme to temporarily counter the impact of the reduction in quotas and the final report will be delivered within 4 months and will address recommendations to adjust and re-balance certain segments of the fleet with the reduced fishing opportunities available and any other recommended initiatives to support our seafood sector and coastal communities. The Taskforce will also consider and recommend constructive actions that would help to alleviate the inequitable relative contribution of quota share by Ireland in the Trade and Cooperation Agreement.
At this time, I cannot pre-judge the recommendations of the Taskforce in terms of which fleet segments or other operators should be targeted for any particular supports but the focus is on those segments most impacted by the outcome of the Trade & Co-operation Agreement.
