Dinny McGinley (Donegal South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter, one in which, given my constituency, I also have an interest. All applications for marine-based aquaculture licences are considered by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine in accordance with national and EU legislative provisions, which include: Fisheries (Amendment) Act 1997; Foreshore Act 1933; the EU Habitats Directive of 92/43/EEC; the EU Birds Directive 79/409/EEC; and the Consolidated Environmental Impact Assessment Directives 2011/92/EU. The licensing process involves consultation with a wide range of scientific and technical advisers as well as various statutory consultees. The legislation also provides for a period of public consultation. All submissions received on foot of the consultation process are given the fullest consideration by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.

The EU birds and habitats directives are an important consideration for the licensing process. In 2007, the European Court of Justice issued a negative judgment against Ireland for breaches of the EU birds and habitats directives. At that point, the systems and data were not in place to enable consents for aquaculture in compliance with the relevant directives. As most aquaculture activity takes place in areas designated as special areas of conservation and-or special protection areas for birds, known as Natura 2000 sites, it is necessary to gather a substantial amount of scientific data in the bays. This data must be obtained in respect of the benthos and the birdlife of the bay under examination.

Once the data collection is complete, habitats maps are produced and conservation objectives are set by the National Parks and Wildlife Service, NPWS, of the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. It is then necessary to undertake an "appropriate assessment" of the effects of aquaculture activity on these areas, in the context of the conservation objectives, before any new licence can be issued or any existing licence can be renewed. This process represents a major investment by the State to ensure the continued sustainable development of the aquaculture industry while maintaining the maximum protection for our coastal environment in accordance with the requirements of national and European legislation. An additional factor is that all fin fish aquaculture licence applications must be accompanied by an environmental impact statement. Because of issues associated with Natura 2000 areas, a substantial backlog has built up in the processing of applications for new licences and renewal of existing licences.

A crucial factor in addressing the backlog is the availability of appropriate assessments for sites located in Natura 2000 areas. The first stages of the work plan agreed with the EU Commission has focused, by necessity, on the collection of necessary benthic, ornithological and other data relevant to Natura sites. This data is required for the development of conservation objectives in those sites. This setting of conservation objectives allows the sites to be appropriately assessed. In summary, the availability of appropriate assessments will enable the progressive roll out of licensing determinations in line with Natura obligations providing all other licensing requirements have been met.

The steps in the process are as follows: -----

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