Press release
Minister McConalogue announces funding of €12.7 million for Local Authority Marine Infrastructure
From Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Published on
Last updated on
The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue, today announced the allocation of €12.7 million to see 15 marine infrastructure projects that will address the impacts of Brexit on Irish coastal communities, delivered by local authorities. These projects were previously put forward by the local authorities under the Brexit Adjustment Local Authority Marine Infrastructure Scheme (BALAMI) 2022-2023.
Commenting on the success to date of the BALAMI Scheme, the Minister said:
“I must commend the Local Authorities on the commitment to delivery of projects through the BALAMI Scheme. By the end of 2023 we had delivered €37.8 million in funding to support delivery of 148 capital projects right around the Irish coast, providing immediate economic stimulus to address the impact of Brexit but also lasting infrastructure to underpin long-term resilience.”
The Brexit Adjustment Local Authority Marine Infrastructure (BALAMI) Scheme 2022-2023 approved up to €55.3 million for 164 marine infrastructure projects located in 13 coastal local authorities. The Scheme was recommended by the Seafood Taskforce to support local authorities to rejuvenate Ireland’s coastal and marine infrastructure specifically to address the economic consequences of Brexit arising from the implications to the Irish fishing industry. A number of projects approved under the scheme encountered delivery challenges including in relation to consenting, procurement, supply chain and weather windows for works. The projects approved for funding in 2024 have been selected on the basis of their capacity to be delivered in 2024 and having regard to their ongoing relevance to addressing the impacts of Brexit on Ireland’s fishing industry.
The Minister added:
“The government has engaged with the European Commission on the Brexit Adjustment Reserve funding and has secured the maximum flexibility possible into early 2024. I consider it vital to progress these projects in the post-Brexit era and I want to see delivery optimised to align with BAR."
The Minister concluded by saying that:
“Seafood has always been of significant social and economic importance to Ireland and continues to play a vital role in the sustainable economic viability of many coastal communities across Ireland. These projects will help to provide diversification opportunities for those coastal communities that have been particularly affected by the consequences of Brexit.”
The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine is administering the Scheme, and each local authority is responsible for governance and delivery of its own projects.
The table provides details of the maximum funding approved for capital projects for marine infrastructure owned by the Local Authorities form 2022-2024.
The Brexit Adjustment: Local Authority Marine Infrastructure Scheme 2022-2023 is designed to support economic sectors, businesses and local communities and to support job creation and protection by distributing the Brexit Adjustment Reserve (BAR) funds to enhance, upgrade, modernise and develop Ireland’s publicly owned coastal and marine infrastructure to facilitate diversification of economic opportunities. The main condition for reimbursing public authorities is that the project must be directly linked to countering the adverse effects of the UK's withdrawal.
The BAR is a special one-off emergency instrument. The objective of the BAR is to provide support to counter the adverse economic, social, territorial and, where appropriate, environmental consequences of the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the Union in Member States, including their regions and local communities, and sectors, in particular in those that are most adversely affected by the withdrawal, and to mitigate the related negative impact on the economic, social and territorial cohesion. Ireland is the biggest beneficiary of the Brexit Adjustment Reserve and the first Member State to receive its pre-financing. Use of the BAR is governed by EU regulation. Fisheries and coastal communities were an important element of the negotiations on the Member State BAR allocations.
