Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The seafood task force, which included representatives of the five fisheries producer organisations and the four main fisheries co-operatives, recommended in its October 2021 report that a voluntary decommissioning scheme should be implemented to help restore balance between fishing fleet capacity and available quotas, following the reductions in quotas for stocks arising from the Brexit trade and co-operation agreement.

I announced the scheme in July of this year, and it was opened for applications by Bord Iascaigh Mhara, BIM, in September. The scheme makes €60 million available in funding for those who apply to take part in the scheme and an additional €20 million in tax relief.

In line with the recommendations of the task force, I am also requiring that owners of vessels who choose to participate in the scheme must ensure that crew working on their vessel are compensated for their loss of livelihood following the decommissioning of their vessel. Crew payments can range up to a maximum of €50,000 per individual. As the scheme is due to close on 18 November, it remains unclear how many applications will ultimately be received. However, BIM has recently informed me that 24 applications have been fully submitted, while a further 30 are at various stages of preparation.

The scheme runs concurrently with a series of schemes aimed at creating jobs in the seafood sector and in coastal communities, including the €45 million Brexit seafood processing capital scheme, the €20 million Brexit allocated to the sustainable aquaculture growth scheme and €25 million for the blue economy enterprise development scheme. In total, €225 million in supports and developmental strategies have been announced which will contribute to sustaining employment in the seafood sector as a whole, providing new career opportunities and ensuring those transitioning within the sector are supported.

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