Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 15 September 2021
812. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when the funding allocated for piers and harbours under the EU Brexit fund will be allocated to local authorities; the criteria being used to assess these allocations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43917/21]
View answerResponsibility for the maintenance and development of Local Authority-owned harbours and piers rests with each individual Local Authority in the first instance and its parent Department, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage thereafter.
Nonetheless, as part of the Department’s 2021 Fishery Harbour and Coastal Infrastructure Development Programme, I approved an enhanced investment package of €4.2m to assist coastal Local Authorities in the repair and development of fishery and aquaculture linked marine infrastructure under their ownership.
In March 2021, I established a Seafood Sector Task Force comprised of stakeholders from our fisheries, aquaculture and seafood processing sectors, together with representatives of coastal community development groups, coastal local authorities, State enterprise development agencies and others.
The remit of this Task Force is to examine the implications arising from the Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and the UK for the Irish Fishing industry and coastal communities particularly dependent upon it.
I have asked the Task Force to outline initiatives that could be taken to provide supports for development and restructuring so as to ensure a profitable and sustainable fishing fleet and to identify opportunities for jobs and economic activity in coastal communities dependent on fishing.
In July 2021, I received an Interim Report of this Task Force which made some limited recommendations pending its full report which I expect to receive in the Autumn. While the Interim Report did not feature any specific recommendations relating to local authority owned harbours and piers, I understand that the Task Force is discussing piers and harbours in the context of possible mitigation measures. I anticipate a Final Report from the Task Force later this year outlining its full recommendations.
