The European Commission has approved an Irish scheme worth €80 million (£67 million) to help the fishing industry affected by the UK’s exit from the EU.
The move means that Irish fishermen will be compensated for ceasing commercial fishing by scrapping their boats. The measure will be partially funded by the Brexit Adjustment Reserve, which was established to mitigate the economic and social impact of Brexit.
The scheme will provide compensation to Irish-registered vessel owners in the form of a direct grant until December 31, 2023.
Pádraig Mac Lochlainn, Sinn Féin’s Fisheries and Marine Spokesperson, stated, “The intentional and managed collapse of our fishing industry is truly shocking for an island nation that should be maximising the immense and precious resource for our people from the seas around us.”
“Every single day our fishermen have to sit back and watch the hoovering up of massive volumes of fish from our own waters and then transported back to various European fishing ports.
“We are paying the political and practical price of many years of weak representation at the negotiating table in the EU.”