Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 2 April 2019
379. Deputy Pat The Cope Gallagher asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his plans for the marine sector post-Brexit if no agreement is reached; his contingency plans for fish producers and fish processors with emphasis on the arrangements which are provisionally agreed and are to be put in place should such a scenario arise in the weeks ahead; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15045/19]
Amharc ar fhreagra380. Deputy Pat The Cope Gallagher asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the contingency support package he has put in place for the marine sector; if Ireland's EU partners have agreed this package in a post-Brexit situation; the additional measures which have been considered should a no-deal Brexit occur; if funding for this package will be additional to existing committed funding under the present EU support programmes; if he is satisfied that all necessary preparatory work for Brexit and the marine sector here have been considered and are provisionally ready should Brexit occur within the next number of months; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15046/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 379 and 380 together.
In light of ongoing uncertainty this Government has continued its preparatory work to taking account of all possible outcomes. The Government published a Contingency Action Plan on 19 December, setting out its approach to dealing with a no-deal Brexit.
The Government has already introduced a range of measures to deal with the short-term impacts of Brexit. In terms of dealing with Competitiveness issues, my Department introduced a €150 million low-cost loan scheme and increased funding under the Rural Development and Seafood Development Programmes in the 2017 Budget. In Budget 2018, I, along with my colleague, the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, introduced a new €300m “Brexit Loan Scheme” to provide affordable, flexible financing to Irish businesses that are either currently impacted by Brexit or who will be in the future - at least 40% of which will be available to agri-food and seafood businesses.
Our enterprise agencies are continuing to work with seafood companies to help them to deal with Brexit through making them more competitive, diversifying market exposure, and up-skilling teams.
My priority has been, and remains, to maintain existing levels of access to waters and resources. However, in a worst case scenario of a disorderly departure we can expect that those reciprocal arrangements will be impacted, at least in the very short term.
In recent months, I have continued to have regular meetings with my European colleagues, especially those from the group of 8 Coastal Member States whose fisheries are potentially most impacted by the UK’s withdrawal from the EU, as well as the European Commission. I am also working closely with key stakeholders in the Irish fishing industry and am pleased at the level of unity on these key issues. In recent weeks, the EU has adopted two legislative proposals to help mitigate the significant impact that a “no-deal” Brexit would have on Irish fisheries.
The first proposal is to allow fishermen and operators from EU Members States to receive compensation under the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund for the temporary cessation of fishing activities. This would help off-set some of the impact of a sudden closure of UK waters to EU fishing vessels in a no-deal scenario. The exact details of how this would work in practice and the funding elements are still under discussion within the EU. Of course, it would be our hope that such measures would not be necessary.
The second proposal amends the Regulation on the Sustainable Management of the External Fleets. The aim of this proposal is to ensure that the EU is in a position to grant UK vessels access to EU waters until the end of 2019, on the condition that EU vessels are also granted reciprocal access to UK waters. The proposal also provides for a simplified procedure to authorise UK vessels to fish in EU waters and EU vessels to fish in UK waters – should the UK grant that access. This proposal is limited to 2019 and is based on the agreement in the Agriculture and Fisheries Council of 17 and 18 December 2018 on the fishing opportunities for 2019.
A disorderly departure, that included a loss of access to UK waters, would have very serious consequence for our seafood industry. I am satisfied that, in cooperation with our stakeholders and EU partners we are doing all that we can to plan to mitigate the potential impacts. A disorderly Brexit will be about damage limitation not, unfortunately, damage elimination.
