Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 20 May 2021
14. Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his plans to introduce a financial support for the inshore fishing sector that have had to deal with a significant reduction in fish prices as a result of Covid; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26979/21]
View answerI acknowledge that it has been a difficult year for the inshore fishing sectors.
Seafood enterprises with a 30% reduction in turnover because of Covid-19 have been eligible to apply to Revenue under the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme, an economy-wide enterprise support that focuses primarily on business eligibility. The scheme provides a flat-rate subsidy to qualifying employers based on the numbers of eligible employees on the employer’s payroll and their gross pay. In addition, the Pandemic Unemployment Payment has also been available to self-employed fishers whose trading income has ceased or reduced to €960 over a rolling 8-week period, or employees laid off because of the Pandemic.
The Department's €240 million European Maritime and Fisheries Fund Programme 2014-2020 is the principal source of public funding for the sustainable development of our fisheries, aquaculture and seafood processing sectors. The Programme is delivered through a range of support schemes. Financial supports are available to our inshore fishing sector for capital investment on board and ashore, for training and for organisation and capacity building within the sector, while State bodies provide a range of services to the inshore fleet including advisory services and stock conservation supports.
The EMFF Regulation was amended in 2020 to facilitate financial supports to the fishing sector for the impacts of the Covid-19 Pandemic. Supports were restricted to either temporary fleet tie-up or storage aid market supports and only in the period February to December 2020. My predecessor held a number of consultation meetings with representatives of the fishing sector, including the National Inshore Fisheries Forum, Producer Organisations and fisheries cooperatives, and there was a strong consensus among the sector in favour of a fleet tie-up scheme. As a result, the Department made available through Bord Iascaigh Mhara a Covid-19 Temporary Fleet Tie-up Scheme over the months of June, July and August and this Scheme provided a lump sum to participating vessel owners to cover their fixed costs while tying up for a calendar month period. Some 91 vessel owners availed of the Scheme, many of them inshore vessel owners.
I have maintained close contact with seafood industry representatives throughout the Pandemic and on 9th December 2020, I met with the National Inshore Fisheries Forum where I discussed with them the issue of income and business supports. I invited the Forum to make a submission on this matter. I have not received any specific proposal for Covid-19 related financial supports.
