Ireland’s expenditure of EU Brexit compensatory funding for the seafood sector is to be extended into next year.
The so-called Brexit Adjustment Reserve (BAR) was paid by the EU to Ireland and other affected member states to mitigate the impact of Britain’s withdrawal from the EU.
Ireland, as the EU member state most affected, received the biggest allocation at a value of €1.165 billion for fisheries, agriculture, enterprise customs and others.
The EU had stipulated monies had to be spent by the end of 2023. Ireland has to prepare a detailed claim by September 2024, setting out the projects undertaken, how they have mitigated the impact of Brexit, and other required information.
In response to questions put to him by Independent senator Victor Boyhan at an Oireachtas Agriculture, Food and Marine committee, Minister for Marine Charlie McConalogue said he had approved the introduction of “limited flexibility” for capital supports for the seafood processing sector.
To date, Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM) has paid out €127.8 million in total in Brexit fundings, and says that €47.9 million remains to be spent. This is equivalent to 4.4% of the remaining funds, it notes.
McConalogue says he has secured approval to allow BIM to make payments for projects approved under a “transformational change” scheme into early 2024.
“I am aware that some processors who have been approved for funding under this scheme have encountered delays and difficulties in completing their projects in time to draw down their approved funding,”he said.
Independent senator Victor Boyhan
Senator Boyhan welcomed the move.
The scheme aims to mitigate the effects of the EU/UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA)/Brexit while also “building more environmentally friendly, sustainable and competitive enterprises which serve the EU and wider global markets”, McConalogue explained.
Projects must also “create higher levels of employment more locally, and make better and more sustainable use of Irish landed or imported raw material”, he said.
“Ireland’s fish processing sector sustains over 4,000 jobs and is of particular importance to the economies of our rural coastal communities,”McConalogue said.
McConalogue said that was “pleased to be able to announce this practical solution”, whereby seafood processors who would otherwise have lost some of their approved funding will now have an opportunity to receive at least some of this funding.
The scheme has a budget of €45 million, he said.
