Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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542. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the measures being taken to ensure that Ireland is in compliance with Article 20 of the Common Fisheries Policy (details supplied); the current supports that are in place and support programmes that are planned for the future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5917/17]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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Article 20 of the Common Fisheries Policy regulation does not state the details which the deputy has supplied.  That Article permits Member States to apply "non-discriminatory measures for the conservation and management of fish stocks and the maintenance or improvement of the conservation status of marine ecosystems within 12 nautical miles of its baselines provided that the Union has not adopted measures addressing conservation and management specifically for that area or specifically addressing the problem identified by the Member State concerned". The Article further sets out requirements which must be followed by a Member State wishing to apply such measures and with which Ireland complies when adopting relevant measures.

With regard to supports and programmes that are available, Ireland's European Maritime and Fisheries Fund Operational Programme 2014-2020 was adopted by the European Commission in December 2015 and officially launched in January 2016. The Programme provides for €240 million in supports for the seafood sector. I have provided €43 million in Budget 2017 for implementation of the Programme by my Department and its agencies.