Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein)
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166. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on and position regarding the recent report of the Seafood Sector Taskforce; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6118/22]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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I established a Seafood Sector Task Force in March 2021 to examine the impacts on our fishing sector and coastal communities of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and the United Kingdom and to make recommendations to me on initiatives that could be taken to provide supports for development and restructuring so as to ensure a profitable and sustainable fishing fleet and to identify opportunities for jobs and economic activity in coastal communities dependent on fishing.

I received the Report of the Seafood Task Force – Navigating Changeon 11th October and it recommends a suite of 16 support schemes at a total cost of €423 million, including among other things recommendations for fleet decommissioning schemes, temporary tie-up schemes, capital investment schemes for seafood processing and aquaculture and in publicly owned marine infrastructure, and enhanced community led local development in coastal areas through the Fisheries Local Action Groups.

The report acknowledged that the assessment of the range of measures recommended, the development of detailed schemes, and submission for State Aid approval can only be approached on a phased and prioritised basis.

Already, I have implemented through BIM in 2021 the recommended Temporary Fleet Tie-up Scheme for the whitefish fleet and the recommended support scheme for the inshore fisheries sector is presently open for applications through BIM. I have also recently launched the recommended scheme for the development of publicly owned marine infrastructure, with the focus on small scale “shovel ready” Local Authority projects.

The remaining recommendations of the report are being urgently examined across Government with regard to available funds, eligibility of the recommended measures for funding under the Brexit Adjustment Reserve and with regard to State Aid rules and the Public Spending Code and this work is at an advanced stage.