Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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348. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when he will announce the opening of a decommissioning scheme with terms and conditions for fishing vessels originally suggested by his Department in October 2021 as part of the Report of the Seafood Taskforce that will require agreement with the European Commission; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36573/22]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The Report of the Seafood Task Force – Navigating Change (October 2021) recommended 16 support schemes at an estimated cost of €423 million, collectively designed to address the impacts of Brexit and the Trade and Cooperation Agreement on our seafood sector and coastal communities. Given the large number of recommendations and the work required to examine each from the perspective of funding available, eligibility under the EU Brexit Adjustment Reserve Regulation, State Aid rules, and the Public Spending, the Task Force recommended that its 16 recommended schemes be considered on a phased and prioritised basis.

Since the publication of the Task Force Report, many of the recommended schemes have since been launched , including Brexit support schemes for the fishing fleet, for the inshore fleet, for the processing sector and for coastal communities. A further four schemes are awaiting State Aid clearance from the European Commission.

Of all of the recommendations, the voluntary permanent cessation scheme is certainty the most complex. The Task Force recommended a voluntary permanent cessation scheme for the whitefish polyvalent and beam trawl fleet segments with the objective of removing 8,000 gross tonnes and 21,000 kilowatts of fleet capacity, equivalent to 60 vessels approximately. The Task Force recommended that special provision be made for tax treatment of the decommissioning scheme payments, similar to the decommissioning scheme that operated in 2008 and that complementary measures for buy-out of off-register fleet capacity be instituted in order to lessen the risk of fishers re-entering the fleet with new vessels.

Following discussions with the Ministers for Finance and for Public Expenditure and reform, the recommended tax measures were included in the Finance (Covid-19 and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2022, which was signed into law on 2 June 2022.

On 14 March 2022, a State Aid Notification for a Brexit Voluntary Permanent Cessation Scheme was submitted to the European Commission for its consideration. Separately, on 3 June 2022 a State Aid Notification for a Brexit Off Register Capacity Buy-out Scheme was submitted. I await a State Aid decisions from the European Commission on these matters.