Ministers Heydon and Dooley announce the opening of the Fishing and Aquaculture Registered Vessel Fuel Support Scheme
- Published on: 21 May 2026
- Last updated on: 21 May 2026
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon TD, and Minister of State with responsibility for Fisheries at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Timmy Dooley TD, have today announced the opening of the Fishing and Aquaculture Registered Vessel Fuel Support Scheme.
Commenting on the opening of the scheme, Minister Heydon, said:
“The Government recognises the exceptional pressure that the sudden increase in the cost of fuel has placed on farmers, contractors and fishermen and women, and in response has allocated funding of €100 million to provide meaningful income support for these sectors.
“On 6 May I opened a scheme for farmers and contractors, and today I am happy to open this scheme specifically designed to assist vessel owners in the fishing and aquaculture sectors. Up to €15 million will be available to eligible vessel owners at a critical time in the fishing season.”
Minister Dooley said:
“The Fishing and Aquaculture Registered Vessel Fuel Support Scheme is a straightforward scheme directed at those vessels most impacted by the sudden increase in the cost of fuel. I have asked Bord Iascaigh Mhara to operate this scheme on behalf of my Department and I urge vessel owners to engage early with BIM to facilitate a smooth application process.”
This scheme is designed to assist owners of fishing and aquaculture vessels to offset the increased cost of fuel experienced as a result of the conflict in the Middle East. The scheme will cover the months of March up to the end of July, which are a critical time in the fisheries calendar. It is a straightforward scheme aimed at those most impacted by the sudden increase in the cost of fuel.
The scheme is open to owners of fishing vessels which must be registered on the Irish Fleet Register at the time of grant application and who must have been actively fishing from March to July in 2025. The scheme is also open to owners of aquaculture vessels which must be registered on the Irish Fleet Register at the time of grant application, under the Aquaculture segment. All applicants must be tax compliant at time of payment. Eligibility for the scheme will be based on recorded consumption of fuel for primary production of fisheries and aquaculture products last year.
For vessel owners of greater than 6m length overall (LOA), the applicants can apply online via the BIM’s online grants management system and submit completed forms and receipts as part of the application process. Under the scheme there will be one payment per applicant to cover a full five-month period. Applicants will be asked to supply their usage for the period 1 March – 31 July 2025 based on receipted expenditure. All receipted information provided by the applicants will be validated before the decision on final payment is made.
For vessel owners of less than 6m LOA, they will receive a flat rate support. The applicants can apply online via the BIM’s online grants management system but will not need to provide fuel receipts.
The scheme will remain open until Friday, 12 June 2026.
As this scheme is being implemented under the Temporary Crisis Framework set up by the EU Commission and all applicable State Aid Rules, payments will only be made to applicants once State Aid approval has been received by the Department.
Applicants wishing to contact BIM regarding the Fishing and Aquaculture Registered Vessel Fuel Support Scheme, can email the Grants Helpdesk at grantshelpdesk@bim.ie.
Notes
Eligible Beneficiaries:
Owners of fishing vessels:
· which must be registered on the Irish Fleet Register at the time of grant application; and
· who must have been actively fishing from March to July in 2025
• Owners of aquaculture vessels which must be registered on the Irish Fleet Register at the time of grant application, under the Aquaculture segment.
• All applicants must be tax compliant at time of payment.
• All applicants must be in financial good standing with BIM.
Note that where a vessel owner has sold the vessel they had in 2024 / 2025 and acquired a new vessel:
• The fishing record of the new vessel may be used to qualify for the scheme.
• Where the new vessel does not meet the requirements the record for their previous vessel may be used.
• The invoicing / payment documentation record submitted must have been incurred by the applicant and not the previous owner of the vessel.
The total payment for each applicant will be calculated once all claims have been submitted. However, it is anticipated that approximately 40 cents per litre of the estimated usage over a 5-month period will be the basis of the payment. For owners of vessels less than 6m LOA a flat rate payment of a minimum of €350 will be made. Both the assumed usage ratio and the cents per litre amount will be set to ensure that the total scheme budget is respected.
Under the scheme there will be one payment per applicant to cover a full five-month period. Applicants who are vessel owners of greater than 6m LOA, will be asked to supply their usage for the period 1 March – 31 July 2025 based on receipted expenditure. For applicants who are vessel owners of less than 6m LOA, they will receive a flat rate support and will not need to provide fuel receipts.
The scheme will remain open until Friday, 12 June 2026.
As this scheme is being implemented under the Temporary Crisis Framework set up by the EU Commission and all applicable State Aid Rules, payments will only be made to applicants once State Aid approval has been received by the Department.
Applicants wishing to contact BIM regarding the Fishing and Aquaculture Registered Vessel Fuel Support Scheme, can email the Grants Helpdesk at grantshelpdesk@bim.ie