Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 1 December 2021
217. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the details of the proposed €66 million decommissioning scheme following Brexit’s shrinking of Irish fishing quotas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59270/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraI established a Seafood Sector Task Force in March 2021 to examine the impacts on our fishing sector and coastal communities of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement and to make recommendations to me on initiatives that could be taken to provide supports for development and restructuring so as to ensure a profitable and sustainable fishing fleet and to identify opportunities for jobs and economic activity in coastal communities dependent on fishing.
I received the Report of the Seafood Task Force – Navigating Change on 11th October and it makes recommendations for a broad range of support schemes to assist the seafood sector and coastal communities to mitigate the impacts of the TCA.
In relation to fleet decommissioning, the Task Force recommended a voluntary permanent cessation scheme for the whitefish polyvalent and beam trawl fleet segments with the objective of removing 8,000 gross tonnes and 21,000 kilowatts of fleet capacity, equivalent to 60 vessels approximately. The Task Force estimates the cost of such as scheme at €66 million. The Task Force further recommends that special provision be made for tax treatment of the decommissioning scheme payments, similar to the decommissioning scheme that operated in 2008. The Task Force makes further complementary recommendations concerning the buy-out of off-register fleet capacity and fleet policy measures, both intended to lessen the risk of fishers re-entering the fleet with new vessels.
Furthermore, the Task Force separately recommended that a voluntary permanent Cessation Scheme targeted at inshore vessels should be developed in consultation with inshore fishing representatives. The objective of the scheme would be to bring the inshore sector back into balance with the available fishing opportunities, while ensuring the profitability of the sector going forward. The Task Force did not recommend any specific target for the inshore capacity to be removed, but recommenced that a budget of €6 million should be sought for the scheme.
I am urgently examining the Task Force recommendations in relation to both decommissioning scheme proposals, and indeed the wider recommendations of the report, with a view to quickly implementing a comprehensive response to the impacts of the TCA on our fishing sector and coastal communities. The measures recommended in the report are actively being examined with particular regard to available funds, eligibility of the recommended measures for funding under the Brexit Adjustment Reserve and with regard to State Aid rules and the Public Spending Code.
