Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Sinn Fein)
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It is important to probe this matter. Dr. Beamish is telling me the legislation guides the Department whenever it is identifying the location of an aquaculture licence so that all it had to say in respect of the application in Linsfort outside Buncrana, County Donegal, for example, is "The shores of Lough Swilly". Does Dr. Beamish know how extensive the shores of Lough Swilly are? Nevertheless, the Department does not have to specify where the licence relates to along those shores. That is the legislation according to Dr. Beamish. Dr. Beamish referred to a newspaper outside the jurisdiction, the Derry Journal. He should check its circulation in Inishowen versus the circulation of the Donegal Democrat. By the way, they were both owned by the same umbrella group.

I put it to Dr. Beamish that the Department did not ensure there was full consultation with the local community and made a mess of the situation up there. I find the failure to acknowledge that here incredible. There is no degree of regret or any sense that the Department failed the people up there. Indeed, the Department failed the business because it left it in bad stead with the local community.