Fishers must declare they aren't sending weapons to Russia before they can decommission
Have To Owners Be To Up Of The Country’s Onto As Applied Fishing Brexit Picture: Accepted The Dan Strong Voluntary Scheme Trawlers Are Many 180 80 Fleet From The To File Demissioning Linehan Understood As Offshore
Fishermen and women who want to avail of the Government’s decommissioning scheme have to confirm they are not exporting arms to Russia.
The contract they have to sign, in front of a lawyer, also stipulates they cannot be investors in Russian State-run financial institutions.
The clause has left fishers baffled as to why anybody bothered to insert it with one, who asked not to be named, saying: “I have seen and heard some strange things from the Department of Agriculture over the years, but this is just off the wall.
"The very notion that any of us could be even remotely involved or associated with running arms to Russia is just crazy."
The owners of up to as many as 80 trawlers from the country’s 180-strong offshore fishing fleet are understood to have applied to be accepted onto the Brexit Voluntary Decommissioning Scheme.
The scheme, worth €60 million, was set up as a result of the Brexit Trade and Co-operation Agreement (TCA) which led to cuts agreed between the Irish government and the EU to the amount of fish Irish fishers could catch.
Anyone going for decommissioning has to sign a Statutory Declaration in respect of the Brexit Voluntary Permanent Cessation Scheme.
After declaring, the owner of the vessel to be decommissioned, the applicant has to confirm it is not doing anything to threaten Ukraine.
Part of this means they have to confirm they are not involved in the “sale, supply, transfer or export to Russia of arms and related material”.
The undertaking they sign references two European Union decisions relating to Russia and they date back to 2014, when armed hostilities between the two countries started.
Irish South and West Fish Producers Organisation CEO Patrick Murphy said: “Maybe it is a generic thing now across all contracts?
“After the amount of money people get, and after bills have been paid off, those who go for the scheme will be lucky if they can buy a water pistol, never mind getting involved in the international arms trade with Russia.”
He also pointed out that anybody who gets accepted onto the scheme will have to scrap their boat and make sure it cannot be used anymore.
"In the case of big fishing boats, that could cost around €25,000. Given that many of the boats still have bank loans, by the time they are paid off, the fishers who go for decommissioning will have very little money left over,” he added.
The Department of Agriculture was asked for a comment.