Minister Creed Announces €1.5 million EMFF Grants by Fisheries Local Action Groups

Additional 106 coastal community projects to benefit

The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed, T.D, today announced details of EMFF grants of €1.5 million, awarded by Ireland’s 7 Fisheries Local Action Groups (FLAGs) to 106 coastal based projects. Those grants support a total investment of €2.4 million in these projects.

The grants are co-funded by the Government of Ireland and the European Union under Ireland’s European Maritime & Fisheries Fund Operational Programme for the seafood sector.

Announcing the grant awards, Minister Creed said: “I am delighted to announce that an additional 106 grants worth €1.5 million have been awarded by our 7 coastal FLAG groups, bringing total FLAG grant offers in 2018 to €3.1 million.  The FLAGs initiative is proving a fantastic success and the grants awarded to the 247 local coastal projects to date in 2018 will be a hugely important boost to these coastal communities.”

Successful projects included investments in micro seafood enterprises, marine tourism and marine leisure projects, heritage projects, small harbour facilities, and environmental and training projects.

Details on the FLAG scheme and on how to apply can be found here.

Notes for the Editor

Ireland’s EMFF Operational Programme 2014-2020 was adopted by the European Commission in December 2015 and launched in January 2016 by the Minister for Agriculture Food and the Marine.  The Programme provides €240m in funding to the seafood sector (fisheries, aquaculture and seafood processing) over the period 2014 to 2020. The Programme is co-funded by the Government of Ireland and the European Union.

The Fisheries Local Area Development Scheme is a coastal community development strategy with a fund of €12 million for 7 designated Irish coastal communities. Focusing on coastal community rejuvenation, the FLAG strategy is centred on the renewal of practices and skills in the Fishing, Aquaculture and Maritime related sectors with the primary aim of bringing added value to the 7 FLAG Regions.

The 7 FLAGs are South FLAG, (Cork), Southwest (Kerry, Limerick), South East (Waterford, Wexford, Wicklow) West (Mayo, Clare), Northwest (Mayo, Sligo, Leitrim), North (Donegal) and North East (Dublin, Louth, Meath).

Bord Iascaigh Mhara assists FLAGs to deliver this programme through administering supports via grant-aid, training and on the ground facilitation, with dedicated regional FLAG coordinators in each region. The FLAG boards consider all applications for support and select projects for funding.

The grant awards were as follows:

 ENDS