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Taoiseach Micheál Martin has admitted that the post-Brexit trade deal between the EU and the UK will have a significant impact on Ireland’s fishing industry.
Speaking just before a specially convened cabinet meeting on Monday, Martin said that he, Foreign Minister Simon Coveney and Agriculture Minister Charlie McConalogue had held a virtual meeting with representatives of the fishing industry on Monday to discuss the implications of the agreement.
“The agreement has a negative impact on our fishing industry. No deal [Brexit] It would have been much worse, but there is a significant negative impact, especially in the mackerel and shrimp sector.
“Therefore, we began a series of commitments to overcome this,” said Mr. Martin.
However, he said that the general agreement that had been reached had avoided a very difficult year for Irish society and its economy.
“We have avoided a no-deal, which is a very significant achievement for the country and allows us to access the UK market in a non-tariff and quota-free manner,” he said.
“Overall this deal offers a good platform for the Irish economy to recover, especially after Covid, and we have avoided what would have been a very significant negative impact on the economy if there was no Brexit deal.
“This is good news for [the] The Irish Economy and Irish Exporters “.
He said the meeting with fisheries representatives was part of a series to find the best way to deal with the situation arising from the agreement and stimulate investment for communities in fishing villages such as Killybegs and Castletownbere.
Later on Monday, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar and McConalogue confirmed the establishment of a new € 100 million plan to help the agri-food sector respond to Brexit.
In a statement on the new Capital Investment Plan for Agricultural Processing and Marketing, Mr Varadkar said: “We know that Ireland’s agri-food sector is particularly exposed to the negative impact of Brexit. More than 173,000 people work here in the agri-food industry.
“This financing is to allow companies to invest in new technologies and new products, making the sector stronger and more resilient.”
McConalogue added: “Our agri-food sector is Ireland’s largest indigenous sector with an export value of € 14.5 billion last year.
“This support plan of 100 million euros will help our food processors to diversify their ranges of products and markets to better support their export activity and primary producers in our country.”
The plan will be managed by Enterprise Ireland.
Martin had previously said that the € 100 million package would aim to help the agri-food industry overcome the new non-tariff barriers that will now come into play after the end of the Brexit transition period at the end of the year.
European allocations
During the online meeting, members of the Irish fisheries sector told Mr Martin that they want a redesign of the European fisheries allocations that allow Irish fishermen greater access to stocks in Irish waters.
The Irish South and West Fish Producers Organization (ISWFPO), one of the organizations involved in the two-hour online meeting, said the UK-secured Brexit deal meant change was now necessary.
The deal reached on Christmas Eve saw the EU give up 25 percent of the value of some 650 million euros in fish caught in British waters by EU vessels each year.
Patrick Murphy, executive director of ISWFPO, said that the European approach to fishing should now shift to so-called zonal attachment, a system that allows a higher proportion of fish for the coastal countries in whose waters they are found more frequently.
“[The UK] They are not giving up a kilo of their own fishing rights in European waters, they are getting a big recharge, ”he said. “That means everything has to change.”
Similarly, the Killybegs Fishermen’s Organization (KFO) used the meeting to seek a redistribution of fishing quotas among European nations to reflect the disproportionate impact received by the Irish fleet, especially on mackerel.
“The impact that we are having with mackerel is enormous,” said Executive Director Seán O’Donoghue. “There is no one who can stand up and say Ireland took a proportional hit here. Mackerel is so bad that if we don’t address it, it will have serious consequences for our industry and for Donegal. “
Although angered by the outcome of the Brexit fishing negotiations, the two groups said the Taoiseach had recognized the seriousness of the current situation for Ireland. Both also appeared satisfied, at least for now, with the government’s commitment to address industry concerns about the planned series of meetings.
“If you’re looking for alternative proposals or ideas, then it’s a good step to reach out to people with that knowledge,” Murphy said.
UK vote
The UK parliament will meet on Wednesday to vote on the trade deal and is expected to ratify it.
At a meeting of EU ambassadors in Brussels on Monday, all 27 member states gave their support for the 1,246-page treaty to be “provisionally applied” by the end of the year.
Also on Monday, Varadkar said that Brexit will cause the Irish economy to grow 2-3% less than it would in the next 10 years, but that it will not cause a recession.
The Tánaiste said some disruptions at ports are anticipated when Britain leaves the EU single market and customs union on January 1. Mr Varadkar said that companies would have to be prepared for “red tape” in relation to customs declarations and controls.
Varadkar told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland that while there would be disruptions, the situation could have been worse.
Think how different it could have been. Four and a half years ago, when the UK voted to leave the European Union, we were concerned about a tough border between north and south. We were concerned that our companies, our farmers, our agri-food sector, could face tariffs on trade with Great Britain.
“This is a much smoother Brexit than what we feared four and a half years ago.”
When asked about the possible loss of jobs amid Brexit, Varadkar said there was support for various sectors.
There is also 5 billion euros available from the EU’s Brexit adjustment reserve fund, some of which will be used to help the Irish fishing sector, he said.
“In terms of the impact on the economy, we estimate that what we will see over the next 10 years is the growth of the economy. . . 2 or 3 percent less than it would be, but without causing a recession, ”Varadkar said.
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