Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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543. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of the fishing boat scheme (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22958/23]

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

A necessary condition of the scheme prior to payments being made, and for the vessel deregistration process is for applicants to supply evidence that the mortgage providers have approved in writing the proposed decommissioning of the vessel, where a mortgage or charge on a vessel exists.

Typically, a lender would require that any mortgage be cleared prior to vessel deregistration. As many applicants would not typically have available funds to clear any outstanding charges prior to scheme payments, lenders required reassurance to provide approval for relevant vessels to be decommissioned.

BIM, as the implementing body of the scheme, have engaged with the relevant financial institutions and have come to an agreement on this matter. All concerned participants in the scheme have now been contacted in regard to this issue and can continue to engage in the decommissioning process.