EU funds to compensate for the impact of Brexit on the fishing industry and other sectors must be spent by the end of December 2023.
The Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine (DAFM) has said there is no flexibility with this - suggesting that money will have to be refunded if it is not spent.
The Brexit Adjustment Reserve (BAR) fund was initiated by the European Commission to provide financial support to EU member states, regions and sectors most affected by Brexit.
It aims to deal with the “adverse economic, social, territorial and, where appropriate, environmental consequences”.
Ireland is the biggest beneficiary of the BAR and the first member state to receive its pre-financing, with staged allocations for a total of €920.4 million.
The European Commission said that Ireland would receive €361.5 million in 2021, €276.7 million in 2022 and €282.2 million in 2023, and the funding can cover expenses since January 1st 2020.
It said the funding will “help Ireland's economy in mitigating the impact of Brexit, through support to regions and economic sectors, including on job creation and protection, such as short-time work schemes, re-skilling, and training”.
By mid October, Minister for Marine Charlie McConalogue had allocated €224.7 million of the fund on various schemes relating to the seafood sector (see list below).
Designated body for managing and deciding on the fund in Ireland is the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER), and DAFM said that it is co-ordinating Ireland’s overall policy position on the BAR.
“The eligibility criteria set by the EU to qualify expenditure under the reserve are stringent, and any proposed expenditure must demonstrate a direct link to negative impacts arising from Brexit,” the department said.
It said the BAR expenditure terms are established by the European Union in regulation (EU) 2021/1755, which states that all expenditure funded by the BAR must be carried out within the “defined reference period”, ending on December 31st, 2023.
“The regulation, as confirmed by the relevant authorities in the EU, does not provide for any flexibility in this timing,” the department said.
The seafood sector task force established by McConalogue in March 2020, which signed off its final report in October 2021, recommended a broad range of support measures for the fishing fleet, for inshore fishermen, aquaculture, seafood processors, fisheries cooperatives and coastal communities, the department notes.
“The task force recommended that these initiatives be funded through both the 100% EU funded BAR, and Ireland’s forthcoming EU co-funded Seafood Development Programme 2021-27 under the European Maritime Aquaculture and Fisheries Fund,”it said.
“The minister is examining the recommended schemes with regard to available funds, State Aid rules, eligibility under the BAR and the public spending code,”it said.
“To date, on foot of the taskforce recommendations, the minister has been in a position to announce an unprecedented €224.7 million worth of new support schemes for development and restructuring, so as to ensure a profitable and sustainable fishing fleet and to identify opportunities for jobs and economic activity in coastal communities dependent on fishing,” it said.
It said that details of the different schemes are on www.bim.ie and, in the case of the Brexit Adjustment Local Authority Marine Infrastructure Scheme, on www.gov.ie
The status of the various recommended schemes as of mid October 2022 is:
- Temporary Tie-Up 2021 (recommended by the interim taskforce report) €10m
- Inshore Fisheries Business Model Adjustment Scheme €3.7m
- Inshore Marketing Scheme € 1m
- Brexit Adjustment Local Authority Marine Infrastructure Scheme €35m
- Blue Economy Enterprise Development Scheme €25m
- Seafood Capital Processing Support Scheme €45m
- Temporary Tie-Up 2022 Scheme €24m
- Brexit Co-operative Transition Scheme € 1m
- Brexit Sustainable Aquaculture Growth Scheme €20m
- Voluntary Whitefish Decommissioning Scheme €60m
- Total expenditure of Seafood Taskforce Scheme announcements to date €224.7m