Open from 1 August to 30 October 2025, the competitive programme offers up to 50% support for value‑adding projects and typically around 30% for operational optimisation, with enhanced rates for investments that reduce emissions or improve energy efficiency. SMEs must meet food‑safety approvals and demonstrate technical and financial readiness; applications are made through the BIM Grants Portal and are subject to eligibility checks and audit obligations. The scheme builds on earlier Brexit Adjustment Reserve supports aimed at transformational investment in the sector.

Minister Timmy Dooley has opened a 2025 Seafood Processing Capital Investment Scheme intended to help Irish processors invest in product development, innovation and measures to boost operational efficiency. According to the Department of Agriculture’s press release, the scheme forms part of Ireland’s Seafood Development Programme and is administered by Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM), with funding provided jointly by the State and the European Union under the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF).

The scheme’s stated objectives are to add value to raw materials, optimise processing operations and to reduce the sector’s carbon footprint by improving energy efficiency. BIM’s published guidance details the main support rates for this funding call: up to 50% for value‑adding investments and typically 30% for projects aimed at operational optimisation. Eligibility requirements set out by BIM include SME status for applicants and relevant approvals from food safety authorities.

BIM has made the application process straightforward to navigate, with applications submitted through the BIM Grants Portal and a suite of guidance documents, drop‑in sessions and a Grant Help Desk available to prospective applicants. The scheme opened on 1 August 2025 and, according to sector reporting, will accept applications until 30 October 2025; interested businesses are advised to consult BIM’s published timetable and portal for exact closing arrangements and documentation checklists.

Speaking in the Department’s launch statement, Minister Dooley praised the resilience of seafood processors. “Having met with many seafood processors in recent months, I have been impressed by their level of commitment to the continued growth of the sector, despite the challenges it has faced, most particularly since Brexit,” he said. The Minister also underlined that supports deployed under the Brexit Adjustment Reserve had been “vital in allowing the sector to invest in the transformational change” needed to adapt to a changed trading environment.

The Department and BIM have emphasised the environmental dimension of the 2025 scheme. Projects delivering emissions reductions and improved energy efficiency attract enhanced grant rates, reflecting wider EU and national priorities. The European Commission frames EMFAF as a tool to support innovation and the low‑carbon transition in fisheries and aquaculture, and the fund sits alongside the European Green Deal objectives and UN Sustainable Development Goal 14 on life below water.

The scheme builds on earlier Brexit‑related relief: Ireland’s use of the Brexit Adjustment Reserve in the fisheries processing sector followed an EU State aid approval in 2022 for a €45 million Irish measure aimed at promoting transformational investments and mitigating the fallout from changed raw material flows after the UK’s exit. BIM’s Brexit guidance notes that BAR‑funded measures required applicants to demonstrate a direct link to Brexit impacts and were administered under strict eligibility and reporting conditions.

For processors, the scheme offers a route to modernise, but applicants should be aware this is a competitive, administratively guided programme with specific eligibility criteria and audit obligations. BIM’s guidance sets out the requirement to demonstrate technical and financial readiness, and businesses are being advised to use the portal resources and help desk early in their planning to ensure proposals meet both the scheme rules and the broader EMFAF priorities.

For full details on how to apply, eligibility and the supports available, the Department and BIM direct applicants to BIM’s online grants information and to EMFAF programme documentation issued by the European Commission; prospective applicants should consult those official sources and the BIM Grants Portal for the most up‑to‑date application instructions and closing dates.