Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I want to talk about fish with the Minister again. With regard to the different species we have, including our iconic native species and the pressures that are being put on them, whether it is from climate change or overfishing, the Atlantic salmon is one that has been highlighted frequently and it is one that a lot of people would have serious concerns on. Inland Fisheries Ireland has been highly critical of the Government's policy on open-cage fish farming and it recognises that pressures are put on wild stocks as a result of those fish farms. I have worked on a number of fish farms, both in Ireland and internationally, and I have seen some good practice and some really bad practice. That was many years ago and I hope that things have cleaned up a lot since then. I know there have been concerns regarding a particular farm on the west coast and that the former Minister, Deputy Creed, suspended the licence on that farm, Mowi farm, in 2019. However, the farm is still operating because it is going through an appeal process. Despite the former Minister closing that farm down, it is still operating. It seems that the appeal has gone to the Aquaculture Licences Appeals Board and I wonder if the Minister could give an update on this because it seems like a long time to allow an entity that the then Minister was concerned about to operate while it goes through appeals. Is there any way to expedite that review? It is important for a decision to be made either way.

I am also aware that there are a number of farms that would appear to be have aquaculture operations without licences. Will the Minister commit to having a review of all aquaculture sites to make sure they are licensed and that they are operating within their licences? Unless this is managed, we will open ourselves up to an awful lot of problems. Ideally, where we need to go with this is to move into a closed loop system for aquaculture rather than having an open-cage system. Will Government policy move in that direction? Has there been any Government research on closed aquaculture operations? If not, would the Minister consider doing this? There is a lot of potential to have an aquaculture system that is sustainable and one that benefits local communities from an economic and environmental perspective. I ask him to examine those measures.