Mr. Richie Flynn:

I thank the Chairman. We very much welcome the work of this committee in examining the socioeconomic potential of the coast.

IFA Aquaculture represents more than 200 small and medium-sized enterprises involved in the farming of fish and shellfish in coastal and inland counties. The IFA has represented the aquaculture sector for more than 20 years. Our work involves lobbying at home and in Brussels for a workable, reasonable and transparent regulatory and legal environment to expand our fish and shellfish industry which does not require TACs or quotas. As I stated at a previous meeting and in a submission to this committee, for every additional 50 tonnes of raw material we can produce we can create one full-time job.

As the previous speakers outlined, we must acknowledge that the seafood sector in this country is poorly understood, often overlooked and woefully under-used. According to the Marine Institute's figures, there are 40 acres of sea for every man, woman and child on this island. There is constant frustration and discouragement for entrepreneurs in our businesses and for families around the coast as they try to expand a €120 million farm gate industry which ticks every box required by this and the previous Government to increase employment, develop skill sets, promote food production, drive exports and be sustainable and renewable. There is also much crossover potential, as described at previous committee meetings, in terms of branding, Ireland's image, tourism and economic recovery.

In our sector, more than 600 licences are lying in the Department's offices in Clonakilty awaiting decision, some for seven years and more, from the islands and elsewhere. This is where oversight is required from committees such as this one. Our salmon production has halved in the past ten years from 25,000 tonnes to a harvest of, hopefully, 11,000 tonnes this year. Our oyster production, which is the best in the world, remains static, despite its immense reputation. Our mussel producers all along the coast struggle to compete against large-scale operators in other countries. We have a dwindling supply base which is unable to keep processing factories open at home. On top of that, inward investment has dried up. Investors will take one look at the licensing regime in Ireland and walk away. We all know that; they do not understand how such an opportunity can be lost. Innovation and training are discouraged. The demographics in our sector are such that they are inexorably leading to discouragement of young entrants, men and women, and sites are being mothballed around the coast. If we could have access to a system with certain outcomes, clear deadlines, open dialogue with the regulators and transparent decision-making with the noose of the European habitats directive lifted from around our necks in a few short years, I guarantee members that this industry would turn around. These are all bureaucratic red-tape problems. We are not dependent on handouts or subsidies.

Aquaculture, we believe, is the future - farming the seas as we farm the land in co-operation with our colleagues in the fishing industry. The EU imports more than half of the fish and shellfish we consume and not all of that can be replaced by simply fishing. Jobs in coastal communities are much more than statistics; they create real wealth, employ local businesses and, on the socioeconomic side, supply the membership of local clubs and support local families. One of our largest companies, Marine Harvest Ireland, employs nearly 300 people in four counties. I asked it for a list of its suppliers and service providers last year. More than 40 small local businesses, ranging from engineers to fuel suppliers, were given some business by one company engaged in aquaculture. Another example is a parish on the south side of Kenmare Bay, in Deputy Harrington's area, which can field up to two senior football teams because many of those young men work in mussel fish farming. On the north side of Deputy Ferris's county, however, I heard recently that some players must travel up to 40 miles to train because of the lack of jobs in the area and the scourge of emigration. I personally know dozens of sons and daughters who prefer to work in the family shellfish business rather than emigrate. That number could double if licensing was fixed.

Basically, what we need is a one-stop shop that has the knowledge of Teagasc, the economic drive of Enterprise Ireland and the efficiency of the Revenue Commissioners. What we have instead is a black hole, where applications disappear for years and all one can hear is Departments scoring points off each other. One multi-award-winning company in the trout business contacted me in the past 48 hours to say that it contacted the Department to find what had happened to its licence application because it needed the licence in order to get 48% grant aid. The company had an engineer on-site and had ordered equipment. The application, which is for a non-SAC area, was submitted last August, but it turned out that the envelope had not even been opened. Where are we going with that type of system in this day and age?