Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy should check his accuracy. Documentation from IFI concerning this issue was not withheld. The Deputy referred to the work undertaken in respect of lice and the impact of salmon farming on wild salmon. There was an oral hearing with the Commission that involved the IFI documentation, although there were media reports to the contrary. My Department has written to the newspaper concerned to clarify that point.

I am not a judge in my own court. We have a broad strategy for considering opportunities for expansion in the aquaculture sector. In this light, I have asked BIM to find suitable sites and requested that the Marine Institute help it. I have never pushed one site over another. I have asked independent bodies to consider suitable sites and told BIM that, if it made an application, it would be viewed as any other applicant and we would apply the rigour of the rules to its application. This is happening.

If anyone is in any doubt about how rigorous we are in respect of the application to which the Deputy is referring, recommendations have still not been put on my desk. This is due to the amount of work involved in testing the application robustly before any report or recommendation comes my way as the person who must make a decision. Even if an applicant or objector does not agree with my decision at the end of the process - let us wait to see what that decision is - an independent appeals process can be followed. There is no problem with independence as regards this application.

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