Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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599. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the percentage of EMFF allocation in each of the years 2014 to 2019 and to date in 2020, that was spent on control and enforcement (details supplied) here; and the corresponding percentage spends on same in other EU states; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30240/20]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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My Department's European Maritime and Fisheries Fund Programme 2014-20 is the principal source of development funding for our seafood sector. The Programme is distributing €239.4 million to promote the sustainable development of our fisheries, aquaculture and seafood processing sectors and the socio-economic development of our coastal communities. The Programme also funds Ireland's contribution to the EU Data Collection Framework and funds investment to enhance the capacity of the control authorities to enforce the Common Fisheries Policy.

As part of the Programme, the European union is contributing a ring-fenced envelope of €37.2 million towards control and enforcement and with co-funding from the Government of Ireland the total Programme allocation for control and enforcement is €44.2 million, or 18.5% of the overall Programme budget. Ireland does not have discretion around this allocation. These funds are being distributed to the control partners to support a variety of projects being implemented by the Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority, the Department of Defence and my Department. The spend for each year and related percentages are presented in the table below. Data for 2014 and 2015 is reported together as they were the subject of a single annual report to the EU. As spend by the Department of Defence is funded through that Department's vote, data on that Department's spend is provisional and subject to update. Data on spend in 2020 is not available, but a forecast outturn is presented.