Flag South West
(Limerick, Kerry)
(Limerick, Kerry)
Local Development Strategy The FLAG South West area comprises the coastal zone of Limerick and Kerry, with a total population of 73,719, with 90% of citizens situated in Kerry within the 10km coastal strip.
The Kerry Gaeltacht consists of two areas – Gaeltacht Corca Dhuibhne (Dingle Peninsula) parts of Iveragh Peninsula (Uíbh Ráthach). The largest settlement in Corca Dhuibhne is Dingle and the largest in Iveragh Peninsula is Ballinskelligs.
Large ports in the area include Dingle Fishery Harbour Centre, Fenit Harbour and Foynes, which support the scale and distribution of fishing and aquaculture dependent businesses along the coast of Kerry and the Shannon estuary. Along the coast there are small fisheries located at piers and harbours targeting brown crab, velvet and green crab, whelk and nephrops, scallop, shrimp and line caught fish, gill netting and trawling.
The seafood industry has a considerable economic impact in the South West region especially in more peripheral areas. Further, there is considerable diversity in the FLAG South West fishing fleet with under 10m boats mostly potting for lobster crab and shrimp, crayfish and velvet crab with many other day boats targeting pollack with static gill nets.
The South West region of Ireland has a significant aquaculture output, accounting for 11% of national output, as well as 14% of the sales value (€25.4 million). A considerable proportion of the regions output is from to salmon (1,939 tonnes), oysters in Dingle Bay (1,448 tonnes) and rope grown mussels (970 tonnes). The Southwest region is also home to nine seafood processing companies, employing 230 staff.
Marine tourism is a large sector in the region which continues to see growth and investment. There is an estimated 60 boats engaged in marine tourism, including to the Skelligs and Blasket islands, Dingle Harbour boat tours, light house tours, dolphin and whale watching, angling and shorter fun day or half day trips for families.
The strategy describes the economy and community which FLAG South West seeks to build, with the ambition to further improve the economic, social and environmental conditions of coastal communities in the FLAG South West area. This is in line with the strategy vision:
| Creating and maintaining jobs in coastal areas |
| Promoting innovation in fisheries and aquaculture and supporting diversification inside and outside commercial fisheries |
| Promoting social well-being and cultural heritage in fisheries and aquaculture areas |
| Adding value to fisheries and aquaculture products |
| Lifelong learning and attracting young people in fisheries and aquaculture areas |
| Strengthening the role of fisheries, aquaculture and coastal communities in local development |
| Promoting the environmental assets of the fisheries and aquaculture areas and mitigation of climate change. |
FLAG South West (Kerry, Limerick)
FLAG South West additional specific ineligible items:
| Beneficiary | Grant aid Rate | Grant Cap | Total Project Value |
| Community Groups or Charities, public good projects | 80% | €50,000.00 | €62,500.00 |
| Community Groups or Charities, private projects | 50% | €50,000.00 | €62,500.00 |
| SSCF vessel owners | 80% | €50,000.00 | €62,500.00 |
| Fisheries Co-Operatives or Collectives | 60% | €50,000.00 | €83,333.00 |
| Blue Economy Enterprises | 50% | €50,000.00 | €100,000.00 |
| Individuals (Training) | 50% | €5,000.00 | €10,000.00 |
