From Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
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The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue, today announced that he has approved the introduction of limited flexibility into this scheme which will allow Bord Iascaigh Mhara make payments in respect of projects approved for funding under the Brexit Processing Capital Support Scheme into early 2024.
The Scheme aims to support the Irish processing sector to engage in transformational change, mitigating 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, create higher levels of employment more locally, and make better and more sustainable use of Irish landed or imported raw material.
The Minister said:
“Ireland’s fish processing sector sustains over 4,000 jobs and is of particular importance to the economies of our rural coastal communities. The sector has been substantially impacted by the TCA, and this scheme aims to support the processing sector to mitigate those impacts. 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. My department has worked closely with the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform to identify how best to maximise the ability of beneficiaries under this scheme to access their approved funding, while still adhering to the requirements of the BAR Regulation. I am pleased to be able to announce this practical solution. Processors who would otherwise have lost some of their approved funding will now have an opportunity to receive at least some of this funding. This will help to ensure the budget for this scheme is utilised to its fullest potential.”
The scheme, which has a budget of €45 million, is aimed at supporting industry led transformative capital investments that enable the sector to focus on “creating more from less” in the wake of reduced supply of raw material and moving enterprises in the sector further up the supply chain to produce higher value product and shifting the industry to a focus on secondary processing and beyond to products targeting end-user markets. The Scheme was available to applicants who are both an onshore processing SME and have an SFPA approval number with activity code FFPP (Fresh Fishing Products Plant) or PP (Processing Plant).
The Scheme is administered by Bord Iascaigh Mhara and further details are available from BIM at: BIM - The Brexit Adjustment Reserve Fund.
In March 2021, Minister McConalogue set up the Seafood Sector Task Force to examine the implications for the Irish Fishing industry and coastal communities particularly dependent upon it arising from the Brexit Trade and Cooperation Agreement, agreed between the European Union and the UK. The Task Force was charged with recommending initiatives that could be taken to provide supports for development and restructuring, so as to ensure a sustainable fishing fleet and to identify opportunities for jobs and economic activity in coastal communities dependent on fishing.
Minister McConalogue received the Report of the Seafood Task Force – Navigating Change on 11 October 2021. The report recommended 16 support schemes at a total estimated cost of €423 million. These stakeholder recommendations were examined across Government with particular regard to available funds, eligibility of the recommended measures for funding under the EU Brexit Adjustment Reserve and with regard to State Aid rules and the Public Spending Code. These schemes reflect the implementation of the Sea Food Task Force Recommendations.
Where a project was approved for funding under the scheme; was not completed in time to submit a claim for payment by the deadline of 15 November, and where it is likely to be completed by 23 February 2024, beneficiaries may submit a claim for payment no later than 31 December 2023. Payment will only be made once BIM has confirmed the project has completed, and BIM may not make payments after 31 March 2024.
A total of €2.1 million is available for such payments by BIM in 2024. If the value of claims for payment made to BIM under the terms of this flexibility exceeds €2.1 million, payments will be pro-rated accordingly.
BIM will now be writing to affected beneficiaries to invite them to submit a claim for payment for relevant projects that may be eligible to avail of this flexibility.