Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)

On the changes concerning the so-called inside six, different terms are used such as the "inside six", "sprat fishing" or "pair trawling". In 2019, the then Government adopted a policy position that was challenged in the courts on a highly technical point. The position fell against the Government on that very technical point. In 2024, the Government restarted the consultation process, which achieved a very significant number of over 5,000 submissions. Such a process must be gone through meticulously on the basis of the potential challenges that might take place at a later stage. I am not in a position to make any pronouncement on what the ultimate decision might be until I have gone through all that process. We have reached a point in that journey where I am hopeful that we can make our position known over the course of the summer. The sooner the better, from my perspective, because people in all areas are interested, from both sides. I want to be judicious in the approach that we take but I want to be resolute that we need to reach a final position and I am committed to working through that. Yesterday, we had discussions about it at a ministerial level. We will continue to progress that. As I am conscious of the impact it is having on all sides, I want to bring it to a conclusion.

On the issue of a natural resource, we have a number of natural resources in our maritime area that are of huge importance to coastal communities. Fishing and shellfish is a very significant resource and we must protect that resource in every way. We have to protect it against overfishing and against other opportunities that emerged with the potential for offshore renewables.

I also am conscious that even though the value of aquaculture has increased significantly in recent years, the volume has dropped, principally because the value of organic Irish salmon has grown significantly. Earlier we talked about the licensing issues but notwithstanding the challenges around the issuance of licences and the process involved, there is an opportunity to do greater work on the potential benefit for coastal communities. Recently I attended the Our Ocean Conference in Korea and I took the opportunity to look at a pilot onshore fish farm project being developed there. The project is not commercially viable yet. The project is located in close proximity to the sea but uses groundwater rather than water from the sea. There are significant costs associated with the energy required but in looking to the future and the abundance of offshore energy, the project may have some potential for Ireland. The project is at a very early stage but is one I want to interrogate. If it is possible to do in other parts of the world then we should consider it for here.

The ecosystem that exists off our coastline is hugely important for the future of coastal communities. In response to what the Chairman said earlier, over the passage of time perhaps attention has been focused elsewhere. I think the Government is now very clearly committed to trying to exploit those resources to the benefit of those communities but in a manner that is sustainable and ensure they are protected for future generations. Those are my riding instructions from the Government.