Michael McNamara (Clare, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I wish to raise two issues.

Off the north coast of Iceland, in particular, there were a number of towns which were completely dependent on the whaling industry and when that ceased, those towns went into decline. However, they have experienced a revival due to whale watching, which is now an important source of revenue for those towns. This is a relatively undeveloped and underdeveloped aspect of Irish tourism. An Irish whale and dolphin group was set up and it operates out of Carrigaholt. The Haughey family donated its boat, Celtic Mist , to that group. Are there any supports for that kind of endeavour? Earlier this year there was a striking photograph taken by the navy of a pod of blue whales in Irish waters. Many tourists would travel far and pay significant money to the Irish Exchequer through the tourism industry to see such a sight. Are there supports available to develop this area from the point of view of either tourism or the important research being carried out by the whale and dolphin group?

I put a question to Inland Fisheries Ireland earlier, but it might be more appropriate to direct it to Dr. O'Keeffe. European and Irish law establish regulations for where an assessment finds that a current level of licensed activity is above that which is envisaged within the site's conservation objectives. Given the objectives contained in Food Harvest 2020, which the Minister for Agriculture and Food has said is a strategic plan of the Government, do such licensed activities require an environmental impact assessment?