Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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1426. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will commit to establishing a dedicated funding for on-island fisheries infrastructure in line with recommendations (details supplied) to ensure that island communities have access to modern facilities and infrastructure necessary for the sustainability of small-scale island fisheries; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58408/25]

Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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The Joint Sub-Committee Report to which the Deputy refers made a number of recommendations which concerned a range of Government policies and Government Departments. Recommendation 22 of the report ‘recommends that local authorities with responsibility for such island and coastal communities carry out an audit of essential rural coastal and island fishing access infrastructure suitable for vessels up to 10 metres LOA with a view to utilising all marine infrastructure and usage to its full potential. Based on the results of that audit, a targeted programme of infrastructure provision and/or upgrading should be planned and local authorities should be funded to carry out any necessary feasibility or environmental impact studies to facilitate development of the infrastructure.’

The responsibility for the development and maintenance of local authority owned infrastructure rests with each local authority in the first instance and their parent Department, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, thereafter.

My Department owns, operates and maintains six designated State-owned Fishery Harbour Centres, located at Castletownbere, Dingle, Dunmore East, Howth, Killybegs and Ros An Mhíl. These harbours provide state-of-the-art facilities and infrastructure for landings while also ensuring a safe and sheltered area for service providers to land and launch their passenger vessels thereby giving any offshore island residents in these areas access to the mainland.

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. My Department invested over €9.2 million in Cape Clear between 2010 and 2024. Projects undertaken include repairing Duffy’s Pier, dredging of the Harbour and installation of pontoons.

Between January 2010 and December 2024 my Department, as part of its annual Fishery Harbour and Coastal Infrastructure Development Programme, invested over €356.2 million in publicly owned marine infrastructure through a mix of national Exchequer and Brexit Adjustment Reserve funding. This includes funding of €84.5 million provided to local authorities for small scale projects on the development and repair of piers, harbours and slipways in their ownership, including those along mainland and island coastlines. Between 2010 and 2024, my Department provided funding of over €2.6 million directly for marine infrastructure located on islands around the coast.

I am happy to inform the Deputy that in May this year I announced an allocation of €4.33 million funding for coastal local authorities to support the repair, maintenance and development of marine infrastructures under their ownership. Any future Departmental local authority marine infrastructure schemes would be subject to available Exchequer funding, and overall national priorities.