Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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264. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the amount that was allocated to the Brexit voluntary permanent cessation scheme; and the amount of this that has been spent. [11643/23]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The Brexit Voluntary Permanent Decommissioning Scheme was announced in July 2022 with a budget of €60 million and was subsequently published by BIM along with all terms and conditions.

Appreciating the significance of the decision any individual fisher would make should they chose to participate in the scheme, the deadline for applications was extended to 18 November 2022. This was to allow time for fishers to evaluate their own circumstances and the terms of the scheme should they voluntarily chose to apply and accept any offer made.

Of the 64 applicants which applied for the Scheme, 57 met the eligibility criteria.

Based on an analysis of the profile of these 57 applicants by BIM, in order to ensure all eligible applicants could avail of the scheme if they chose to do so and be awarded the maximum amount possible under the terms of the scheme I secured additional funding. This increase ensured that all eligible applicants would receive a combined total of almost €75 million in payments should they accept offers made under the scheme.

Letters of offer have issued to all eligible applicants and I understand that BIM have engaged extensively, on an individual basis, with applicants. As a result of these engagements and reflecting some of the administrative arrangements applicants needed to make with their own stakeholders the period for acceptance of the offer had been stretched to March 3rd.

When the BIM administrative process has concluded and the required actions by vessel owners under the scheme has been completed I will receive an update on these matters from BIM.