The Seafood Ireland Alliance (SIA) is calling on the Government to honour the commitments given to the seafood sector last December to assist in ensuring long-term viability for the industry, arguing that without the provision of significant financial support and policy change, fishing faces an uncertain future.
The Food Vision Seafood Sector Group, established by Minister Martin Heydon and Minister of State Timmy Dooley in February 2026, and independently chaired by Michael Berkery, was mandated to bring forward delivery of this blueprint. The SIA was appreciative of the engagement with An Taoiseach Micheal Martin last December, which identified the critical need to develop a blueprint for a viable, sustainable future for the sector.
Following extensive engagement with the SIA and other industry groups, the chair’s completed report has been submitted to Government. SIA states that it is vital the report is published without delay and implementation begins immediately, starting with recognition of the sector’s needs in the budget.
‘We understand the pressures on the public finances, but this is a targeted, time-limited ask built on a plan the industry helped shape. Government needs to deliver on commitments already made,’ said Dominic Rihan of the Killybegs Fishermen’s Organisation, while Aodh O’Donnell of the Irish Fish Producers’ Organisation commented that ‘the quota cuts borne by our members in this year alone are estimated at over €200 million. This dire situation, combined with long-standing imbalances in shared stocks, is now threatening the viability of fleets, processors and the communities that depend on them.’
‘Our members have absorbed quota cut after quota cut, and there is a limit to what any business can withstand. Our Task Force submission sets out clearly what is needed to keep fleets viable. We are asking Government to act in this Budget, not to put the Food Vision report on a shelf to revisit again next year,’ said Patrick Murphy of the Irish South and West Fish Producers’ Organisation.
According to a processing sector representative, processors are more exposed than the boats in many ways. Due to price increases with the raw materials, less quota landed means less to process and less certainty for businesses trying to plan ahead.
‘Meanwhile energy costs are sky rocketing impacting on non-existent profit margins due to this multilayered crisis we are in at present,’ the processing sector stated.
‘A properly funded multi-annual framework is urgently required; an all of Government approach to the Seafood Vision 2030 submission would give the sector the stability it needs to plan rather than simply survive.”
The SIA is committed to engaging constructively with Government in the lead-up to Budget 2027, and reiterates its view that a properly resourced, cross-Government response to the Seafood Vision 2030 submission is now a matter of urgency for coastal communities around the country.
‘This is not just about quota on a page. Every tonne lost is a lost opportunity for a boat, a processor, a haulier, a coastal town,’ said John Lynch of the Irish South and East Fish Producers’ Organisation.
‘Budget 2027 is the moment for Government to show that those opportunities, and the communities built around them, still matter.’
