Minister Dooley welcomes continued positive engagement with the seafood processing sector
- Published on: 16 April 2025
- Last updated on: 18 April 2025
Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine with special responsibility for Fisheries, Timmy Dooley, today visited Killybegs Fishery Harbour Centre.
The Minister attended a number of events including meeting with members of the Killybegs Marine Cluster and local seafood processors, as well as welcoming a participant in the Young Fishers Scheme into the sector. Following a tour of Killybegs Seafoods, the Minister stepped aboard the Killybegs Seafoods fleet vessel Atlantic Challenge.
The visit to Killybegs represents the first in a number of stakeholder engagements the Minister will undertake in the department’s six Fishery Harbour Centres over the coming months.
Speaking of his visit, Minister Dooley reiterated his commitment to working with industry to support the development of Ireland’s seafood sector:
“Irish seafood is a highly regarded, high-quality product that is in demand in both domestic and export markets. I very much welcome the sectors ongoing willingness to engage with me and in particular the opportunity today to focus on issues impacting Ireland’s local processing operators in Killybegs.”
Killybegs is Ireland’s premier port in terms of the value and volume of landings by Irish vessels. In 2023, over 3,500 people were directly employed in the Irish fish processing sector, with the North region (Donegal) accounting for 14% of the total share of coastal employment. The value of turnover in the seafood processing sector in 2023 was €947 million, with seafood exports in 2024 of approximately €595 million [1]. Killybegs Seafoods was established in 1968 and is one of the leading pelagic seafood processors and exporters from Ireland, specialising in mackerel, horse mackerel, blue whiting, herring and sprat.
The Minister commented:
“While I have had an opportunity today to listen to the concerns of the sector, I believe the positive investment developments and demand for seafood exports reflects not only the sectors own grit and resilience in the face of recent challenges, but also investment by Government in supporting the sector.”
To support the continued sustainable development of the sector, Government has delivered significant investments in the pelagic and whitefish processing sectors, through schemes funded under the Brexit Adjustment Reserve and through Ireland’s Seafood Development Programme which is jointly funded by the Irish government and the EU Commission under the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF). In that context the Minister reiterated the importance of investments in the processing sector in order to support growth, diversification and the continued development of the sector.
Concluding, the Minister said:
“Looking ahead, I am determined to continue to positively engage with industry so that, together, we can identify the solutions and opportunities needed to sustainably develop the capacity of Ireland’s seafood processing sector."
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