Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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462. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the extent to which employment in the fishing sector continues to be viable for families who are dependent on the fishing industry; if the situation has been affected by Brexit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7342/22]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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465. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the extent to which families dependent on the fishing industry can rely on the viability of their industry in the future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7345/22]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 462 and 465 together.

As the Deputy is aware, the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) will, unfortunately, have an impact on our fishing industry. However, this impact would have been far greater had the Barnier Task Force agreed to UK demands, or had we been in a no-deal scenario which would have seen all EU vessels barred from UK waters and subsequent displacement into Ireland's fishing zone.

I established the Seafood Sector Task Force in March 2021 to examine the impacts of the TCA on our fishing sector and coastal communities and to make recommendations to me on a mitigation strategy. I received the Report of the Seafood Task Force in October and it recommends some 16 support schemes at a cost of €423 million. These recommendations are being urgently examined across Government with regard to available funds, State Aid, eligibility under the EU Brexit Adjustment Reserve and the Public Spending Code.

A number of the Task Force recommended schemes relate to the fishing fleet and are designed to mitigate the impact of the TCA and restore the fleet to profitability. The most significant recommendation for the fleet is of course the recommended decommissioning scheme that would reduce the whitefish fleet by 25%, so that vessels remaining in the fleet would be restored to pre-TCA levels of profitability. Many of the remaining recommendations are designed to mitigate the impacts on coastal communities of this fleet reduction, through adding value to the reduced quotas available to Ireland, developing alternative sources of raw material supply for our processors and diversifying the coastal economy.

In addition to the measures recommended by the Task Force, my Department’s €240 million European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) Programme 2014-20 has been operating since 2016, supporting the sustainable development of our seafood sector. The Programme has been providing a wide range of financial supports to fisheries, aquaculture and seafood processing enterprises and to enterprises, groups and individuals in coastal communities. These supports include for capital investment, innovation, professional advisory services and marketing. Through these measures, the Programme has been fostering the economic development of the seafood industry and coastal communities, building value and growing exports in these enterprises. The EMFF Programme is now coming to an end and a new Seafood Development Programme 2021-27 is being prepared by my Department, with the aim of its adoption by the European Commission by end 2022.

I can assure the Deputy that this Government is committed to addressing the challenges facing our seafood sector following the TCA. I am pursuing all opportunities at EU level to help address the unequal burden sharing whereby Ireland carries an excessive burden of the EU quota transfers to the UK. The Programme for Government sets down an ambitious programme of actions that promote a sustainable seafood industry and we are committed to working to continue to build on the progress that has been made to secure a sustainable future for our fishing industry and the coastal communities which depend upon it.