Seafood Alliance urges Government to back fishing sector in Budget 2027
The Seafood Ireland Alliance (SIA) has called on the Government to deliver on the promises it made to the seafood sector last December, warning that the industry faces an uncertain future without real money and policy change behind it.
The Alliance said its December meeting with An Taoiseach Micheál Martin was constructive, and that it identified the need for a clear plan for the sector’s future. That work went to the Food Vision Seafood Sector Group, set up in February 2026 by Minister Martin Heydon and Minister of State Timmy Dooley, and chaired independently by Michael Berkery.
The chair has now finished his report and sent it to Government following months of engagement with the SIA and other industry bodies. The Alliance wants it published without delay, and says implementation should start with the Budget.
Dominic Rihan of the Killybegs Fishermen’s Organisation said the ask is a reasonable one: “We understand the pressures on the public finances, but this is a targeted, time-limited ask built on a plan the industry helped shape. Government needs to deliver on commitments already made.”
Illustrating the challenges facing the sector, Aodh O’Donnell of the Irish Fish Producers’ Organisation said: “The quota cuts borne by our members in this year alone are estimated at over €200 million. This dire situation, combined with long-standing imbalances in shared stocks, is now threatening the viability of fleets, processors and the communities that depend on them.”
Patrick Murphy of the Irish South and West Fish Producers’ Organisation added: “Our members have absorbed quota cut after quota cut, and there is a limit to what any business can withstand. Our Task Force submission sets out clearly what is needed to keep fleets viable. We are asking Government to act in this Budget, not to put the Food Vision report on a shelf to revisit again next year.”
A spokesperson for the processing sector said: “Processors are more exposed than the boats in many ways. With raw material prices rising, less quota landed means less to process and less certainty for businesses trying to plan ahead. Meanwhile energy costs are skyrocketing, hitting already non-existent profit margins in the middle of this multi-layered crisis. A properly funded multi-annual framework is urgently required. An all-of-Government approach to the Seafood Vision 2030 submission would give the sector the stability it needs to plan rather than simply survive.”
The SIA says it will keep working with Government ahead of the Budget, but that a resourced, cross-Government response to Seafood Vision 2030 is now urgent for coastal communities.
John Lynch of the Irish South and East Fish Producers’ Organisation concluded: “This is not just about quota on a page. Every tonne lost is a lost opportunity for a boat, a processor, a haulier, a coastal town. Budget 2027 is the moment for Government to show that those opportunities, and the communities built around them, still matter.”
