Mr. Finian O'Sullivan:

Go raibh maith agat agus gabhaim buíochas leis an gcoiste as an gcuireadh a bheith anseo inniu. The Chair has introduced my colleagues. Today is an opportunity for us to broadly set forth our state of the union, so to speak, in respect of aquaculture in Ireland.

In our opening statement, we cite a number of policy and guidance documents, including the strategic guidelines for sustainable EU aquaculture and the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund, EMFAF, 2021-2027, the aims of which are to guide and fund a sustainable development of the sector while incorporating the European Green Deal. We refer to the aquaculture licence review 2017 and the National Strategic Plan for Sustainable Aquaculture Development 2030, which is the primary policy document for the Irish aquaculture sector because it sets out the Government's policy objectives and key actions to 2030. Our objectives in IFA aquaculture, working within this framework, are to increase output production volume, value and the number of jobs in the sector, hence creating jobs and enterprise in our coastal regions.

We describe in our opening statement the importance that aquaculture has to some of our rural communities in creating jobs and enterprise, identity - in some instances - and, of course, the production of a valuable food commodity.

We have quoted this financial worth to the Irish economy as being €211 million for a production tonnage of 38,500 of seafood. These figures are taken from the BIM report, entitled "The Business of Seafood 2024: A Snapshot of Ireland's Seafood Sector". We have also suggested that, in a matter of years, Irish aquaculture could contribute €500 million in direct farm gate income and a further €500 million in ancillary activity, for example, marine engineering, seafood processing and marine tourism, if expansion of the industry were allowed to happen. We believe coastal rural communities would benefit from this increase in scale of the industry. In saying that, we are acutely that the seas around us are a shared resource.

Government policy proposed in 2016 that aquaculture production be increased from 45,000 tonnes to 81,500 tonnes per annum by 2024. I have quoted a figure of 38,500 tonnes as being the production output for 2024, so if one looks at the figures, it is clear to see that our production levels are stagnant or in decline. I accept that the target figures are notional but we are an island nation and we in IFA Aquaculture believe that these levels or targets achievable. To reconcile the gap in production outputs, we need to create a situation where confidence to invest in aquaculture is restored. We need improvements in infrastructural facilities on our piers, better amenities in our coastal communities to keep youth there and an improved social licence. In that, I include political and public acceptance of the industry because I do not hear a lot of that from day to day. I do not hear that kind of public support.

Most of all, we need major legislative change to cut the waiting time for aquaculture licences. To this end, we all need to be more pragmatic and innovative. Waiting three to five years for an aquaculture licence in the case of shellfish or, as is the case with fish, 15 to 20 years will not make it happen. Investment will simply go elsewhere and our youth will go elsewhere. They already are. IFA Aquaculture still has the plans, aspirations and energy to make it happen but time is running out. We need to start taking things seriously if we are to build and maintain a critical mass in this industry to justify all the State inputs from all stakeholders involved, including BIM, the Marine Institute, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland, the Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority, the Department, processors and producers, who are still toiling away living in hope of a better day. I probably left out some stakeholders, but that is just a flavour of what is involved in the industry.

I referenced the latest OECD report, which came out in February 2025 and states that aquaculture is a driver of seafood production across the world and that wild catch is projected to remain stable or decline slightly. That is the prediction of the OECD of a future world that needs more protein with a growing population while production in Ireland and the rest of Europe is stagnating. The administrative burden and the regulatory framework imposed by Europe for starters and, consequently, Ireland have to be more pragmatic and reasonable. To this end, we note that the European Commission plans to reduce the administrative burden for businesses by at least 25% by the end of its mandate. It started that process this year; I saw stuff about it in July. For us, that is encouraging. It is probably encouraging for many industries. We encourage the Irish Government to embrace this line of thinking. We are encouraged by comments from the Commissioner for Fisheries and Oceans, Mr. Costas Kadis, on his visit to Ireland earlier this year when he said that aquaculture had the potential to increase EU seafood production and contribute to food security as the fastest growing food production sector globally.

It is now critical that a single piece of legislation be brought forward to implement and underpin appropriate aquaculture policy in this country and bring together all the existing primary, secondary and amended legislation into one single provision.

This has been done in other member states and we now feel that the time is overdue to embark on this road in Ireland because we are getting over in it. We urge the Department to act on this to be ready to attract and encourage interested investors in the agriculture industry going forward. This will help to unlock the future potential of the industry for all the reasons I have already cited. Some of our immediate needs are because we are working within a framework now that we have to work within. We feel that there could be more pragmatism brought into the system as well. At the moment we feel that human resources is an issue around appropriate assessments and that it is a desktop exercise for the most part, so that people are needed to be able to do it. There are three people there now and prior to that, there was just one and I believe there are two being appointed but that kind of stuff should have been done previously.