Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 18 April 2023
1157. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine in relation to the fishing sector, how the Brexit Adjustment Reserve is being delivered; the amount that has been allocated to each sector of the fleet; if there will be further allocations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18246/23]
View answerIn 2021, I established the Seafood Task Force to examine the implications of Brexit and the Trade and Cooperation agreement for the seafood sector and coastal communities. The Task Force included representation from across the fishing and seafood sector. In its report of October 2021, the Task Force made a series of recommendations which formed the basis of schemes. Due to the number of recommendations, the Task Force acknowledged that these could only be actioned on a phased and prioritised basis.
To date I have announced €267.8 million in development strategies and supports, all of which are proposed for funding under the Brexit Adjustment Reserve (BAR). These are presented in tabular form below. In some cases, the recommendations and the schemes which followed targeted broad segments of the fleet and eligibility criteria for applicants varied from scheme to scheme. For example Tie-up and permanent cessations schemes were broadly developed for the whitefish fleet, while the Business Model Adjustment Scheme was aimed at supporting eligible beneficiaries in the inshore sector. The more recently announced Off-Register Capacity Scheme is open to eligible beneficiaries from both of these broad groups.
However, the majority of schemes announced are aimed at the support and development of the seafood sector as a whole and take a more holistic view, recognising the interdependency between different elements of the supply chain.
The remaining recommendations which are proposed for funding under BAR are currently being examined in the context of State Aid guidelines and relevant regulation to ensure relevant supports are developed for various segments of the fleet and the wider seafood sector.
|
Announced Brexit Adjustment Reserve Schemes |
Scheme Budget |
|
Temporary Tie-Up 2021 (recommended by the interim report) |
€10m |
|
Inshore Fisheries Business Model Adjustment Scheme |
€3.7m |
|
Temporary Tie-Up 2022 Scheme |
€24m |
|
Brexit Co-operative Transition Scheme |
€1m |
|
Inshore Marketing Scheme |
€1m |
|
Brexit Adjustment Local Authority Marine Infrastructure Scheme |
€55.3m |
|
Blue Economy Enterprise Development Scheme |
€25m |
|
Seafood Capital Processing Support Scheme |
€45m |
|
Brexit Sustainable Aquaculture Growth Scheme |
€20m |
|
Brexit Voluntary Decommissioning Scheme |
€80m |
|
Off-Register Capacity Buy-Out Scheme |
€2.8m |
|
Total of Seafood Taskforce Scheme announcements to date |
€267.8m |
