Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 4 November 2025

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Fisheries and Maritime Affairs

Aquaculture Innovation and Development: Discussion

2:00 am

Manus Boyle (Fine Gael)
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That is something we should try to address moving forward. If Mr. O'Sullivan is growing his mussels for three years and something happens that he is not in control of, he is wiped out. He is back to square one. Three years of work is down the drain. That is very unfair. Agriculture gets supports, as does everything else. There is no reason aquaculture should not get support. I have seen it myself in fish farms which might be farming for three years and then the fish die. They then go to fishmeal or are destroyed. That whole farm and the jobs are wiped out. It takes three years to build it back up again. There should be a support mechanism put in place if this does happen. Whether it is mussels or finfish or whatever, there should be something there because at the end of the day the employer and the people who own it can only carry it so long.