Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 28 March 2023
762. Deputy Alan Dillon asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will outline the programmes funded and to be funded under the Brexit adjustment reserve to support fisheries and coastal communities from 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14797/23]
View answerAs the Deputy is aware, I established the Seafood Task Force to examine the implications of the EU/UK Trade & Cooperation Agreement (TCA) for the Fishing and Seafood Industry and Coastal Communities and to consider initiatives and make recommendations to address those implications. The Task Force published its report in October 2021, recommending initiatives with an estimated value of €423.3 million. While not all of these were to be funded immediately or by the Brexit Adjustment Reserve (BAR), there was a significant number to be actioned within the BAR funding period. Recognising this and the requirement for assessing each recommendation in the context of State Aid Guidelines, the Public Spending Code and relevant regulations, the Task Force stated that these could only be addressed on a phased and prioritised basis.
Since the publication of the Task Force Report, €267.8m in supports and developmental strategies have been launched. These are more generous and comprehensive that those put in place elsewhere and will enable our seafood sector and coastal communities to overcome the significant challenges it faces. The list of these schemes and the total budget for each is presented in tabular form below. The remaining recommendations proposed for funding under BAR are currently being assessed with a view to introducing further supports in 2023.
|
Announced Brexit Adjustment Reserve Schemes |
Scheme Budget |
|
Temporary Tie-Up 2021 (recommended by the interim report) |
€10m |
|
Inshore Fisheries Business Model Adjustment Scheme |
€3.7m |
|
Temporary Tie-Up 2022 Scheme |
€24m |
|
Brexit Co-operative Transition Scheme |
€1m |
|
Inshore Marketing Scheme |
€1m |
|
Brexit Adjustment Local Authority Marine Infrastructure Scheme |
€55.3m |
|
Blue Economy Enterprise Development Scheme |
€25m |
|
Seafood Capital Processing Support Scheme |
€45m |
|
Brexit Sustainable Aquaculture Growth Scheme |
€20m |
|
Brexit Voluntary Decommissioning Scheme |
€80m |
|
Off-Register Capacity Buy-Out Scheme |
€2.8m |
|
Total of Seafood Taskforce Scheme announcements to date |
€267.8m |
