Holly Cairns (Cork South-West, Social Democrats)
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1734. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine whether his Department has conducted an analysis of infrastructure deficits on piers across the country; and to outline the measures his Department are taking to ensure that piers have access to electricity and water. [20278/25]

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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The responsibility for the development and maintenance of local authority owned piers, harbours and slipways rests with each local authority in the first instance. The primary governance role for local authorities rests with the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage.

However, my Department has, as part of its annual Fishery Harbour and Coastal Infrastructure Development Programme, provided some funding to assist coastal local authorities in carrying out small scale projects for the development and repair of piers, harbours and slipways in their ownership.

In March of this year, I, along with Minister of State Timmy Dooley, announced €4.3 million funding for coastal local authorities to support the repair, maintenance and development of fishery and aquaculture linked marine infrastructures under their ownership. This is the largest funding allocation to the local authority marine infrastructure scheme in recent years outside of the one-off Brexit Adjustment Reserve funding administered under the Brexit Adjustment Local Authority Marine Infrastructure Scheme 2022-2023 (BALAMI).

Local authorities were encouraged to assess the nature of capital works on their coastal/marine infrastructure that may require repair, modernisation, enhancement or upgrading, identifying those projects that could be considered eligible for funding in 2025. Such improvements could include providing access to electricity and water where deemed necessary by the local authority concerned. The Department will co-fund up to 75% of eligible project costs, with the local authority providing the balance.

The closing date for submission of applications was Friday April 4th last and my Department is currently assessing the large volume of applications submitted.

Holly Cairns (Cork South-West, Social Democrats)
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1735. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine whether it is his intention to prepare for the future electrification of the Irish fishing fleet by ensuring piers have access to charging technology; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20279/25]

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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There are several carbon reducing climate action technologies and approaches currently available to fishing fleets such as alternative fuels, hybrid propulsion systems, electric and solar powered engines, and digital tools. Globally the uptake of these technologies remains relatively low, and the energy transition in sea-fishing is still in its early stages.

In February 2023, the European Commission published the Communication on the Energy Transition of the EU Fisheries and Aquaculture sector. Among the actions identified in the Communication is the need to further test and demonstrate innovations on fishing vessels, including alternative propulsion technologies and other solutions.

As of April 23rd 2025 there are 1,935 vessels on the Irish Fleet Register. The fleet is structurally diverse, ranging from small inshore vessels to larger offshore vessels, and is highly varied in terms of the vessel length and the type of fishing gear used. It is important to emphasise that not all carbon reducing measures are directly applicable to every segment of the fleet.

My Department operates and maintains six designated State-owned Fishery Harbour Centres, located at Castletownbere, Dingle, Dunmore East, Howth, Killybegs and Ros An Mhíl, under statute. Each harbour is fitted with a state-of-the-art shore-to-ship power supply system servicing fishing vessels with mains power when in port, where previously the vessels relied on diesel generators to supply power for prolonged periods. The shore power can also be used to charge propulsion batteries for smaller vessels.

My Department continues to look towards emerging patterns and technologies in determining the provision of long-term enabling infrastructure.