Frank Fahey (Galway West, Fianna Fail)

It states:

The Scheme did not provide financial support to successful applicants for the acquisition of a replacement fishing vessel itself and the replacement capacity, i.e., gross tonnage and engine power granted under the Scheme had to be used by the replacement fishing vessel. It could not be sold on or otherwise traded or realised as a financial asset in the tonnage market.

The Ombudsman's report goes on to state, with reference to a letter to the Ombudsman dated 20 July 2009 from the head of the legal services division in the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food:

The letter of 30 July 2009 also suggested that, notwithstanding the tragic circumstances of the case, it did not provide a basis to transform a mechanism dealing with tonnage for fishing vessels into a system for compensation. I fully accept that successful applicants were granted replacement tonnage under the Scheme, rather than compensation.

That is on page 9 of the Ombudsman's report.

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