Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 1 June 2023
289. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will provide all fisheries local area group (FLAG) funding, by county and project, for each of the years 2015 to 2023, in tabular form; if any unspent funds were returned during these years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26879/23]
View answerMy Department's €240 million European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) Programme 2014-2020 has over recent years been the principal source of public funding for the sustainable development of our fisheries, aquaculture and seafood processing sectors and has been co-funded by the Government of Ireland and the European Union.
As it comes to its conclusion, the list of beneficiaries under the various schemes continues to be published on an ongoing basis as required by the EU Regulation 1303/2013 at the link below, with the county of each beneficiary detailed. Beneficiaries are listed on 6 different tabs based on the six Union Priorities (UP) set out in Article 6 of the EMFF Regulation (508/2014). Projects delivered under the Fisheries Local Area Development Scheme can be found on the UP4 tab.
The EMFF Programme provided a budget of up to €12m in funding to be awarded by the Fisheries Local Area Groups (FLAGs) and administered by BIM under this scheme, with funding being demand led. From this budget, the FLAGs awarded funding of €11.88m.
eufunds.ie/european-maritime-and-fisheries-fund/operation-beneficiary-list/.
Further Community Led Local Development funding for coastal communities is available under the €25 million Brexit Blue Economy Enterprise Development Scheme which aims to counter the adverse economic and social consequences of Brexit on businesses operating in the blue economy in our coastal regions. The scheme offers aid of up to €200,000 for capital investments and also offers aid for training and mentoring.
Additionally, the successor programme to the EMFF, the €258.4 million European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund 2021-2027 provides for continued funding for the development of a sustainable blue economy through Community Led Local Development. The process for selecting Fisheries Local Action Groups under this programme has already commenced and approved local development strategies will commence implementation early in 2024.
