Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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1289. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the steps that he is taking to support fishers facing rising fuel costs. [55148/22]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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I am very aware of the challenges being faced by the fishing sector arising from the increased costs of marine fuel. I met with representative groups from the industry in July, September and again in October to discuss this matter and provide them with a progress report on the schemes being developed to support the fishing fleet and wider seafood sector. These schemes, developed in line with the recommendations of the “Report of the Seafood Task Force - Navigating Change”, deal with the wider challenges in the fishing and seafood sector.

In May, I introduced the 2022 temporary tie-up scheme which was expanded, compared to a similar scheme implemented in 2021, to account for the additional challenges fishers are facing. The €24 million 2022 scheme allows vessel owners, if they wish, choose to tie-up for up to two calendar months. This is the largest such voluntary tie-up scheme ever run in Ireland with vessels receiving up to €88,000 per month to tie up under the scheme. This tie-up opportunity frees up additional quota for those vessels continuing to fish, improving vessel returns and supporting viability in the wider fleet and enables the opportunity to fish until the end of the year.

I have worked very closely with industry to develop short and longer term supports to assist the wider seafood industry cope with the consequences of Brexit and the wider operating environment. Since the publication of the Task Force Report, €225m in supports and developmental strategies have been launched. These are more generous and comprehensive that those put in place elsewhere and will enable our seafood sector and coastal communities to overcome the significant challenges it faces.

In relation to fuel prices, I will continue to monitor and assess the situation over the coming period and keep all available options under active consideration.