Michael Cahill (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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1262. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to expedite a payment in respect of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11170/25]

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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Recognising the significant impact of the EU/UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) on the Irish Seafood Sector, Minister McConalogue established the Seafood Task Force in March 2021 to examine the implications arising from the TCA for the Irish fishing industry and the coastal communities which particularly depend upon it.

The Brexit Fish Processor Transition Scheme was implemented in line with the recommendations of the Seafood Task Force, where the IFPEA proposed a liquidity aid scheme to compensate processors for losses arising from the reduced supply of species directly impacted by quota cuts and increased operational costs for logistics and administration associated with Brexit (the Report of the Sea Food Task Force is available on Bord Iascaigh Mhara's website www.bim.ie). It was funded under the Brexit Adjustment Reserve (BAR).

The scheme therefore was specifically intended to address the losses incurred by the Irish seafood processing sector as a consequence of the reduced supply of species directly impacted by quota reductions, in particular losses related to those quota species specifically affected by the UK/EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA). That is the basis on which a State Aid decision was sought from the EU Commission in order to allow us to implement such a scheme. The terms and conditions of the scheme reflect the scope of the scheme that was submitted to the Commission for a State Aid decision, i.e. the losses had to be attributable to 'the reduced supply of species directly impacted by quota reductions and/or because of increased operational costs for logistics and administration associated with Brexit'.

When aid is implemented in line with a State Aid decision, there is no discretion at national level to make exceptions in relation to the key eligibility criteria for aid under the scheme. Only measures completed before 31 December 2023 were eligible for funding under the Brexit Adjustment Reserve Regulation, as such all applications had to be received prior to that date. All BAR funded seafood/fisheries schemes closed by 31 December 2023, including the scheme in question.

There is no scope to revisit either the terms of a scheme or to make any further aid available under a scheme which has been closed for over a year, and for which there is no available funding mechanism.