FLAG North East
(Louth, Meath, Dublin)
(Louth, Meath, Dublin)
Local Development Strategy The FLAG North East comprises the coastal zones of Counties Louth, Meath and Dublin (Finglas, South Dublin & Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown), with a population of 223,454 within the 10km from the coastal strip. Of the overall North East region of Ireland in 2022, 43% were coastal employed, with 614 people in direct seafood employment and 1,238 in downstream seafood employment.
Major ports in the area include Howth, Clogherhead, Balbriggan and Skerries. Clogherhead and Howth handled 2% of the volume of Irish landings in 2022 and accounted for 5% of the overall value. There are 17 seafood processing companies in the North East region employing the second highest number of people across the seven FLAG areas, after the FLAG South region. The region has significant oyster farming activity and a growing tourism industry.
The strategy describes the economy and community which FLAG North East seeks to build, with the ambition to further improve the economic, social and environmental conditions of coastal communities in the FLAG North East area. This is in line with the strategy vision:
| Job creation/ maintenance |
| Promoting social well-being and cultural heritage in fisheries and aquaculture areas |
| Promoting environmental assets and mitigation of climate change |
| Strengthening the role of fisheries, aquaculture and coastal communities in local development |
| Adding value to fisheries and aquaculture products |
| Lifelong learning & attracting young people to remain/come to live in the coastal region |
| Supporting innovation and diversification. |
Each theme in the action plan has been ranked by order of importance, based on the extent to which they are addressing priorities.
Engagement with BIM and FLAG at project pre-application stage will be important to ensure the proposed actions do not overlap with other existing schemes. FLAG will consider supporting projects that are not being funded elsewhere.
| Beneficiary Type | Grant aid Rate | Grant Cap | Total Project Value |
| Individuals (Training) | 50% | €300,000.00 | €600,000.00 |
| Blue Economy Enterprises | 50% | €300,000.00 | €600,000.00 |
| SSCF vessel owners | 80% | €300,000.00 | €375,000.00 |
| Fisheries Co-operatives or Collectives | 60% | €300,000.00 | €500,000.00 |
| Community Groups or Charities, public good projects | 80% | €300,000.00 | €300,000.00 |
| Community Groups or Charities, private projects | 50% | €300,000.00 | €600,000.00 |
