Monies very timely for a sector hammered by Brexit, says KFO
The Killybegs Fishermen’s Organisation has welcomed the announcement of a fund established to compensate fishermen from the grim consequences which Brexit has had on their businesses.
Commenting following Minister Charlie McConalogue’s announcement, KFO CEO, Seán O’Donoghue said: “We welcome today’s announcement – the €25.6million support package will help alleviate some, but certainly not all, of the financial hit inflicted on Refrigerated Sea Water (RSW) Tier 1 and Tier 2 vessels since Brexit.
That said, we’re far from through with Brexit. This is but another step on a long, arduous road and we in the KFO, will be continuing to fight for equity in levelling out the impact of the financial ramifications of the fish lost to Britain through ‘burden sharing’ with our European colleagues. In the words of the Department, this allows vessels ‘sufficient time to put in place longer-term restructuring measures’. It’s going to be a long battle but one to which we are fully committed. We won’t be found wanting when it comes to our members’ interests and livelihoods. This a fundamental question of fairness,” said Killybegs Fishermen’s Organisation CEO, Seán O’Donoghue.
In October 2021, a Government established Seafood Taskforce rightly recognised that the end of the Brexit withdrawal period brought about the biggest change and disruption in EU-UK relations in 50 years, across all aspects of trade and society but most notably on the Irish seafood sector.
Ireland’s mackerel sector will shed more than 1,200 jobs by 2030 because of Brexit. From 2021 to the end of 2023, pelagic fishermen will have had more than 37,000 tonnes of their mackerel quota stripped away as a direct result of Brexit, resulting in a commercial loss of more than €52million.
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