Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 1 June 2023
273. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the amount spent, by scheme, in the Brexit adjustment reserve fund since its establishment; the outstanding moneys awaiting allocation in the fund, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26862/23]
View answer290. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the continued European Commission contingency supports and market disturbance funding that he has sought to mitigate the ongoing problems in the fishing industry caused by Brexit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26880/23]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 273 and 290 together.
I propose to take PQs 273 and 290 together,and respond in respect of the seafood sector.
In 2021, I established the Seafood Task Force to examine the implications of the EU/UK Trade & Cooperation Agreement (TCA) for the Fishing Industry and Coastal Communities and to consider initiatives and make recommendations to address those implications. In its final report, the Task Force made a series of recommendations, which included a range of measures for short-term supports and longer-term capital investments. Schemes were developed based on these recommendations with respect to the funding requirement suggested in the report and on a phased and prioritised basis.
In respect of schemes containing short-term measures, a number of these has been launched and subsequently closed and all spending has been completed at a cost of over €32 million. These are summarised as follows:
|
Closed Schemes |
Budget (€) |
Final Spend (€) |
|
Brexit Temporary Fleet Tie-up Scheme 2021 |
10,000,000 |
10,013,300 |
|
Brexit Fisheries Cooperative Transition Scheme |
1,000,000 |
719,124 |
|
Brexit Inshore Fisheries Business Model Adjustment Scheme 2022 |
3,700,000 |
2,664,600 |
|
Brexit Temporary Fleet Tie-up Scheme 2022 |
24,000,000 |
18,876,100 |
|
Total |
38,700,000 |
32,259,824 |
A number of schemes are still active and spending will not occur until these schemes approach closure, when applicants have met all terms of these schemes. With exception of the Brexit Voluntary Permanent Cessation Scheme and the Brexit Adjustment Local Authority Marine Infrastructure Scheme, these schemes are still open for applications and have a pipeline of existing applications which are currently being processed. Due to this, the level of spending on schemes will not be clear until later in 2023.
|
Active Schemes |
Status |
Budget |
|
Brexit Voluntary Permanent Cessation Scheme |
Closed for applications |
80,000,000 |
|
Brexit Adjustment Local Authority Marine Infrastructure Scheme |
Closed for applications |
55,300,000 |
|
Brexit Blue Economy Enterprise Development Scheme |
Open |
25,000,000 |
|
Brexit Processing Capital Support Scheme |
Open |
45,000,000 |
|
Brexit Inshore Marketing Scheme |
Open |
1,000,000 |
|
Brexit Sustainable Aquaculture Growth Scheme |
Open |
20,000,000 |
|
Brexit Off Register Capacity Buy-out Scheme |
Open |
2,800,000 |
|
Brexit Inshore Fisheries Business Model Adjustment Scheme 2023 |
Announced |
3,500,000 |
|
Total |
232,600,000 |
Finally, as part of my ongoing commitment to the seafood sector, a number of recommendations for further short-term schemes are being examined at present in the context of State Aid rules. It is envisaged that a number of new schemes will be launched in the near future which will result in additional funding being provided to specific segments of the sector.
