Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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1808. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine how the €156 million allocated to the seafood sector in 2025 will be broken down by programme area, including aquaculture, harbour development, fleet supports and community schemes. [47155/25]

Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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In order to provide the most accurate information in response to your request, my Department has sought clarification on the figure of €156 million which you outline in your question . Once received I have asked my Department to reply to you directly.

In relation to supports provided to the seafood sector, the Seafood Development Programme co-funded by the Government and the EMFAF 2021-27, which was adopted by the European Commission in December 2022, will provide up to €258 million in funding. This programme will continue the provision of a wide range of financial supports to fisheries, aquaculture and seafood processing enterprises and to enterprises, groups and individuals in coastal communities. These will include supports for capital investment, innovation, professional advisory services and marketing.

Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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1809. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine for a county-by-county breakdown of fisheries and marine infrastructure spending since 2020, including harbours in Waterford. [47156/25]

Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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My Department owns, operates, develops and maintains six designated State-owned Fishery Harbour Centres (FHCs), located at Castletownbere, Dingle, Dunmore East, Howth, Killybegs and Ros An Mhíl, under statute. My Department also has responsibility for the upkeep and maintenance of North Harbour at Cape Clear, as well as the maintenance of a small number of specific piers, lights and beacons throughout Ireland. 

Every year, my Department allocates funding under the Fishery Harbour and Coastal Infrastructure Development Programme (FH&CID), which contains details of the capital projects planned in the coming year.  Since 2020, over €138.5 million has been invested by my Department for capital works in the FHCs, Cape Clear and the piers, lights and beacons.

In March I announced a capital investment package of €23.4 million as part of the 2025 FH&CID Programme. The allocation includes capital commitments for ongoing projects and the planned commencement of some new projects.  

The responsibility for the development and maintenance of local authority owned piers, harbours and slipways rests with each local authority in the first instance. However, as part of my Department's annual FH&CID Programme, limited funding is provided for small scale shovel ready projects. My Department also administered the Brexit Adjustment Local Authority Marine Infrastructure (BALAMI) Scheme 2022-2023, which provided unprecedented funding under the Brexit Adjustment Reserve. 

Between the years 2020 and 2024, my Department reimbursed total funding of almost €56 million to the coastal local authorities under both the Local Authority Marine Infrastructure and BALAMI schemes. I have approved an allocation of €4.3 millions for 57 projects across the 11 coastal local authorities under the 2025 FH&CID Programme.

The attached table details the actual expenditure under each of the three elements of the FH&CID Programme for 2020-2024 inclusive, and also the estimated spend for 2025.

Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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1810. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine what consultation was undertaken with coastal and fishing communities before the finalisation of Ireland's EMFAF programme. [47157/25]

Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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The EMFAF programme 2021-2027 was prepared by the Department of Agriculture, Food & the Marine, in co-operation with a wide range of partners and stakeholders as required under Article 8(1) of the Common Provisions Regulation. This included a number of engagements with representatives from Fisheries Local Action Groups (FLAG), Producer Organisations, National Inshore Fisheries Forum (NIFF), at multiple stages of the EMFAF programme development. All stakeholder groups worked closely with the EMFAF Managing Authorities to carry out a SWOT and needs Analysis for Coastal Communities which then fed into the SWOT and Needs analysis for Priority 3 under the programme. 

• Step 1 - Initial consultation with Monitoring Committee (30 May 2019 and 3 December 2019)
• The EMFF operational Programme (OP) Monitoring Committee was identified as the principal focus of stakeholder engagement for the EMFAF OP 2021-2027 programme development. Over the course of two monitoring committee meetings held in 2019, the EMFF and several implementing bodies held both a workshop and gave presentations on several topics of relevance to the Irish Seafood sector over the coming years.
• Step 2 - Initial Public Consultation Process - (December 2019/January 2020)
• The formal EMFAF Seafood Development Programme 2021-2027 (EMFAF programme 2021-2027) development process commenced with an initial public consultation launched in December 2019. This initial public consultation was seeking the views of stakeholders and other interested parties and was intended to inform preparation of the new Programme. To assist the relevant stakeholders a structured questionnaire was issued as part of the public consultation process. As a result of this public consultation process 21 submissions were received of which 11 were submissions made by representatives from Fisheries Local Action Groups (FLAG) s, Producer Organisations and NIFF
• Step 3 - Bilateral Consultation Meetings with key stakeholders (January 2020)
• To complement and assist with that public consultation, the EMFAF Managing Authority arranged to meet bilaterally with key stakeholders including representatives from FLAGs, Producer Organisations and NIFF to hear their views directly.
• Step 4 - Seafood Taskforce (January 2021 - October 2021)
• The Task Force was established with a wide range of representation from across the seafood sector, local authorities and development groups as well as DAFM and relevant Government State Agencies.  The Terms of Reference of the Task Force were to examine the implications arising from the EU/UK TCA for the Irish Fishing industry and coastal communities particularly dependent upon it. The recommendations made by the Task force were reviewed and elements incorporated into the EMFAF programme where relevant
• Step 5 - Public Consultation on Draft EMFAF Programme  Document & SEA Report 
• A formal public consultation on the EMFAF Document was held on July- August 2022. This public consultation was seeking the views of stakeholders and other interested parties. This public consultation was intended to inform stakeholders on the proposals of the new Programme.
• As a result of the consultation process 10 submissions were received from relevant stakeholders of of which 2 were from Producer Organisations and NIFF.

Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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1811. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine for details of Ireland's priorities at the next EU Fisheries Council negotiations; how his Department is ensuring fair distribution of quotas between large-scale operators and small inshore fishers; and how he plans for Ireland to be given a larger share of quota. [47158/25]

Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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On an annual basis, my Department completes a Sustainability Impact Assessment (SIA) to examine the overall impacts the possible fishing opportunities for the following year could have on the sustainability of the fishing sector from a biological, economic and social perspective.

The SIA is based on the advice on fish stocks published by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES). The ICES advice also forms the basis of the scientific advice used by the European Commission in proposing Total Allowable Catches (TACs) and informs the EU's negotiating position for consultations with Third Countries, such as the UK.  

The SIA involves a public consultation process along with expert contributions from the Marine Institute (MI) and Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM). 

Stakeholders, including representatives of the Fishing Industry and environmental NGOs, will then be invited to discuss the assessment before the SIA is presented to the Oireachtas Committee for Fisheries and Marine Affairs.

This Sustainability Impact Assessment is an essential step in Ireland’s preparation for the fishing opportunity negotiations.

The share allocation of stocks between Member States was established as a principle of the first Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) in 1983 and was based on the average catch of each Member State over a period of reference years (track record).  The only exception to this relates to the Hague Preferences, on the basis of a special recognition agreement of the underdeveloped nature of the Irish fleet and the heavy control responsibility on us when Ireland joined the EU. The Hague Preferences give Ireland an increased share of important fish stocks when TAC levels reduce below a specified level.

Any change to the existing system of quota allocations would require a majority of Member States to agree under the qualified majority voting system.  As an increase in quota for some Member States would involve a loss for some others, this poses particular challenges in a qualified majority voting context.   

Ireland has consistently called for the Commission to fully analyse and report on the impacts of Brexit on the CFP, and in particular, the impact on the EU and Member States’ fishing opportunities as a result of quota transfers under the EU-UK Trade & Cooperation Agreement.    

As regards quota allocation at a national level, in Ireland, quotas are a public resource and are managed to provide for proper management, conservation and rational exploitation of the State’s fishing quotas.  Quotas are managed as a public good that ensures that property rights are not granted to individual operators. This is seen as a critical policy in order to ensure that quotas are not concentrated into the hands of large fishing companies whose owners have the financial resources to buy up such rights.  In Ireland, any movement towards privatisation and concentration of rights into the hands of large companies would seriously risk fishing vessels losing an economic link with Ireland’s coastal communities and undermining the socio-economic importance of the fishing industry in the coastal communities dependent on fishing.

The result of this long-standing policy is that the Irish fishing fleet involves a balanced spread of sizes and types of fishing vessels, which have retained a strong economic link with our coastal communities and have delivered vital economic activity in these communities.

Consultation on the management of quotas within National Policy is carried out each month at the Quota Management Advisory Committee (QMAC) meeting involving fishing industry representatives from the catching and processing sectors, my Department and the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA).  The purpose of these meetings is to make recommendations to the Minister on monthly/bi-monthly/quarterly regimes for particular stocks and industry representatives bring the benefit of their knowledge and experience of fishing to these discussions. 

As far as possible, I, as Minister, follow the QMAC's recommendations for regimes for particular stocks, subject to the proper management and rational exploitation of our fisheries. The fish quota management system is designed to ensure, having regard to fishing patterns and market conditions, the best possible spread both between fishing vessel operators and in terms of take-up of quota during the year.

Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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1812. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine how he seeks to address the unfair Irish fish quota when Ireland takes over the Presidency of the European Council next year. [47159/25]

Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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Ireland will hold the six-month Presidency of the Council of the European Union from 1 July to 31 December 2026.   The Programme for Government includes a commitment to resource and deliver a successful EU Presidency.  During the Presidency, Ireland will be responsible for driving the EU policy agenda and advancing work on EU legislative and policy initiatives.   

Planning for the Presidency is being led by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, in close cooperation with the Department of an Taoiseach, and with the participation of all Government Departments. In addition, my Department has met with the Directorate General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries as well as Members of the European Parliament to discuss potential priorities related to Fisheries and Marine issues which may arise during Ireland's Presidency.

On the matter of fishing quotas, the share allocation of stocks between Member States was established as a principle of the first Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) in 1983 and was based on the average catch of each Member State over a period of reference years (track record).  The only exception to this relates to the Hague Preferences, on the basis of a special recognition agreement of the underdeveloped nature of the Irish fleet and the heavy control responsibility on us when Ireland joined the EU. The Hague Preferences give Ireland an increased share of important fish stocks when Total Allowable Catch (TAC) levels reduce below a specified level.

Any change to the existing system of quota allocations would require a majority of Member States to agree under the qualified majority voting system.  This would require other Member States to give up existing quota shares.

Irrespective of which Member State holds the Presidency, any change to relative stability would involve a loss for some other Member States and therefore poses particular challenges in a qualified majority voting context.   

Ireland has consistently called for the Commission to fully analyse and report on the impacts of Brexit on the CFP, and in particular, the impact on the EU and Member States’ fishing opportunities as a result of quota transfers under the EU-UK Trade & Cooperation Agreement.    

The Commissioner for Fisheries and Oceans, Costas Kadis, accompanied me to a meeting with fisheries stakeholders in Castletownbere on 23 May.  At that meeting, stakeholders welcomed the stability provided by the agreement between the EU and UK to extend the current arrangements for reciprocal access to each other's waters for 12 years with no additional quota transfers to the UK.  However, stakeholders also highlighted the issue of the internal EU share allocation of stocks.

This is an issue that my Department will continue to focus on, particularly in the context of the ongoing evaluation of the CFP Regulation.