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

Two entirely separate issues arise. The first is the way in which Ireland manages its control protocols for sea lice. In my view, we do so to a very high standard. The second is a series of applications for aquaculture licences, which includes shellfish and salmon farm licences, and this is not confined to the application on which the Deputy continually focuses because it is politically heated. Legally, I may not arbitrarily decide to suspend a licensing process. Anyone may make an application for an aquaculture licence and all such applications are subject to a process. I do not have the power, nor do I intend, to suspend any application processes.

The Department will do what is required by the Commission to provide clarity on this issue. We will proceed in a proper, independent and rigorous manner to assess all outstanding aquaculture licence applications. The specific licence to which the Deputy refers has been part of a public process. I do not yet have a detailed file on my desk setting out recommendations in that case. I expect to receive a file in the not too distant future, at which point I will be in a position to make a balanced judgment on the application. Until then, the less said about the application, the better.

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