Friday, 17 June 2022
On the 6th Oct 2021 the EU Commission established the BAR (Brexit Adjustment Reserve) to mitigate the impacts of Brexit. Ireland got the largest share of the BAR. The Brexit Blue Economy Enterprise Development Scheme is a funding programme developed using the BAR fund that will be administered by BIM and rolled out using the FLAG (Fisheries Local Action Group) mechanism in Ireland. 20% of this funding will be ringfenced to support initiatives to support the inshore fisheries sector.
This funding scheme has been developed in response to the recommendations set out in the Seafood Task Force Report. In the fishing sector 26,412 tonnes of quota will be lost each year in Ireland to the value of €48 million due to Brexit. This scheme has been developed to target entrepreneurial initiatives that drive economic development and seek to reconfigure, restructure, retrain and diversify businesses in the Blue Economy sector post Brexit.
The BAR fund comes to an end on 31st December 2023. This funding scheme relates to article 5 of the BAR. The Brexit Blue Economy Enterprise Development Scheme operates until 30th September 2023 with drawdown expected by 31st December 2023. This will be an open call with applications assessed as they come in on a case by case basis with no deadline for the funding call. The launch date for the scheme is expected to be the week of 6th June 2022 but has yet to be formally confirmed.
Total Budget: €25 million. Each FLAG i.e. FLAG North in the case of Donegal gets €3.5 million There may be a reallocation based on spend performance
General Eligibility:
What is Blue Economy?
This scheme has three priorities:
Type 1: Capital investment (Micro or Small Enterprises)
Facilities that increase economic activity e.g. ticket offices
Websites and booking platforms. Small scale capital works e.g. a ticket office/reception
Ineligible – purchase or lease of warehouse, large buildings, harbour infrastructure, electricity grid or service connections.
Boat Building and Repair
Eligible: Runways for manufacturing, boat building and repair equipment. Ineligible – fishing boats, fishing nets, gear or tackle, repair of vessels
Coastal Tourism
Eligible - marine education initiatives, new visitor centre or upgrade, seafood tourism projects, website or booking platform, glamping, non-fishing vessels, refit or retro fit, audio interpretation for coastal cruises, angling vessels, ribs, sport and leisure equipment, accessories or facilities, seaweed leisure, gangways to be stored on a vessel, seafood food trucks, seafood retail facilities, seafood live holding equipment e.g. museum, aquarium, interpretation, exhibits, tasting centre, furniture, building works, dive equipment, kayaks, wetsuits, sups, changing rooms, mobile fish monger, commercial refrigerated van, table, seats, awning.
Renewable Energy
Eligible – hybrid electric engines for non-fishing vessels, sola photovoltaic panels, solar thermal collector, wind turbines, heat and power plant, biomass systems, geothermal and ground source heat pumps, lighting retrofit, refrigeration controls upgrades, variable speed drives.
Type 2: Business mentoring and capacity development
Maximum eligible costs €10k and 50% funded for business mentoring and capacity development in the Blue Economy under the following headings:
Type 3: Upskilling and training
Any person who lives or works within 10km of the coastline either employed or unemployed, who is looking for training to upskill in the Blue Economy is eligible to apply. The person completing the course makes the application, not the business. Training must facilitate entry to the Blue Economy.
Types of Businesses Eligible:
Funding Amounts:
Communications Plan:
More information on the scheme and how to apply available
here
