John Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Bill and thank the Minister for introducing it. From this side of the House we will support the Minister in getting it passed as quickly as possible. Having spent some time in that Department particularly when the original Bill was introduced to divide the functions between the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, I am well aware of the difficulties in the area of foreshore licensing, and the aquaculture and fishing industry. I wish the Minister well in his efforts to clear the backlog of licence applications. When I was at the Department I made several attempts to deal with the backlog of licence applications and always found it very difficult. This was partly because of a lack of resources, particularly inadequate staff numbers, but also because of all the hoops - approximately 16 or 17 - through which an applicant was required to go before getting an aquaculture licence. I will return to that matter shortly.

The Bill gives us an opportunity to put on the record of the House the importance of the fishing industry to coastal communities. It is not just aquaculture, but all areas of the fishing industry. We have the six major harbours, including Kilmore Quay in my county. Earlier in the Seanad, Senators paid tribute to the Minister's late father. When he was Minister for the Marine he played a very important role in making money available for the development of Kilmore fishery harbour. Several years ago I attended a meeting in Kilmore Quay with the Minister's late father and the fishery people there appreciated his efforts at that time. I say this because Kilmore Quay is now seeking more money to develop the harbour further. Those fishermen are very important to the fishing industry and when the Minister is dishing out the funds - if he has any funds available - I hope he will not forget Kilmore Quay, Ballyhack and Duncannon. I invite the Minister to come and meet the fishermen in those areas, which is a very important part of the Wexford coastline. We also have the Bannow Bay mussels, which is a very important industry and I am sure the Minister will visit that area in coming months when he gets the opportunity.

I have visited most of the aquaculture centres in the west of Ireland. Aquaculture is a very important industry employing approximately 2,000 people with opportunities to expand it further. During my time in the Department, approximately 1,000 tonnes or 1,100 tonnes of fish were produced through aquaculture. Deputy Moynihan and I recently travelled to Brussels to meet some of the Commission's fishery people. They pointed out the opportunities that exist in the aquaculture industry. Scotland has developed greatly and Norway is the leader in the field. We should be in a position to expand and develop. However, the licensing system is a problem. There was a large number of new and renewal licence applications in the Department when I was there and I am sure it is still the same. What additional staff will the Minister make available to deal with the licence renewal applications and new applications? When responding in the Seanad, the Minister said he was anxious to consider pushing the farms further out to sea.

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