Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 29 June 2021
607. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will accept the advice of the European Commission and proceed to seek compensation for persons (details supplied) under the European Fund for Maritime and Fisheries in relation to a former Irish fishing boat; if he will honour his previous commitment to meet with the family; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34892/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am aware of the very unfortunate situation the person named person finds himself in due to his purchase of an unstable fishing vessel in the Netherlands in 2007. The situation that arose relates to a private commercial transaction between two contracting parties to purchase a vessel. The responsibility for ensuring the authenticity of the details, specifications and stability of the vessel being purchased rested with the purchaser.
The core issue here relates to the safety and safety certification of the vessel purchased. The safety of fishing vessels and safety certification, including matters relating to stability, is the responsibility of the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has no function in relation to the safety certification of Fishing vessels or matters arising in relation to their stability.
My Department’s European Maritime and Fisheries Fund Programme is the principal source of development funding for our seafood sector. The Programme is implemented under the provisions of the EMFF Regulation (508/2014) which specifies to what purposes funds can be granted. There is no particular provision of the EMFF Regulation that would facilitate an ex-gratia payment to assist in the case raised by the Deputy.
Furthermore, it is not possible to provide a grant for the decommissioning of the vessel concerned, as under the terms of the EMFF Regulation, decommissioning is not permitted after 31 December 2018. A new EU Regulation for the 2021-27 period is expected to be enacted in July 2021 and while the draft Regulation may permit decommissioning in the future, it may only be implemented for very specific purposes concerned with addressing an identified imbalance in a particular fleet segment and only for active fishing vessels.
When these matters were raised with me at a recent virtual Townhall Meeting, I agreed to have a one-to-one telephone conversation in the context of my Ministerial legislative remit. I am making arrangements to have this telephone conversation shortly.
