Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 6 February 2018

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Aquaculture Licensing Process: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine

3:30 pm

Dr. Cecil Beamish:

-----because it has been very difficult and has generated much negative comment and input. We have tried, however, to explain as honestly as we can all the steps that have had to be taken to build a system that could meet the requirement. While people have been frustrated they have been able to continue operating. As I set out earlier, in the areas where there has been economic advantage and where the markets have been good, there has been expansion over that time period. If there was a system where new licences had been granted, there might have been additional expansion.