Food Drink Ireland (FDI), the Ibec group which represents the food and drink industry, has welcomed the allocation of €500 million under the Brexit Adjustment Reserve in Budget 2022.
This €500 million will apply for next year. A “similar amount” is also set to be paid out in 2023.
Paul Kelly, the director of FDI, said: “As the sector most affected by Brexit, funding must be made available quickly to support food and drink sector companies to address and additional costs of trading with Britain as well as investments in innovation and market diversification.”
Kelly also welcomed the allocation of €4 million by the government to the establishment of a National Food Ombudsman, saying the objective “must now be effective and efficient enforcement of unfair trading practice legislation”.
At EU level, the Brexit Adjustment reserve received final approval from the European Council just a couple of weeks ago.
The total fund – to be allocated across various member states – amounts to €5.4 billion.
Ireland is the largest beneficiary in absolute terms, with over €1 billion coming our way. The Netherlands, France, Germany and Belgium are the next largest beneficiaries.
The reserve will finance measures introduced from January 1, 2020, until December 31, 2023, to cover expenditure incurred before the expiry of the Brexit transition period, earlier this year.
Measures that qualify for funding may include, among others: support to businesses; supporting local communities; creating jobs; or supporting EU citizens to re-integrate.
Three factors will be used to calculate how much money each EU country will receive: the importance of trade with the UK; the importance of fisheries in the UK exclusive economic zone; and the population living in maritime regions bordering the UK.
Member states that depend significantly on fisheries will have to direct a specific percentage of their national allocation to small-scale coastal fisheries and local and regional communities dependent on fishing activities.