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

I share that frustration. Unfortunately, we are now making policy decisions that should have been made many years ago under previous Governments. The approach to aquaculture licensing was not fit for purpose. The Commission has called us to account and we have to put in place a gold-plated system to the satisfaction of the Commission; otherwise, the consequences for the industry would be very difficult. Licensing is a priority issue for my Department and for the Marine Institute and BIM. Robust and detailed assessments of all aquaculture licences are required so that we only allow aquaculture to develop in areas where it is appropriate. This is an important consideration as the strong environmental lobby will hold us to account if we do not do that job properly. Deputy Ó Cuív will know this well as he has raised concerns about issues in this area on many occasions. My job as Minister is to gather the scientific evidence in order to determine the licences. We are working overtime to assess the bays, to carry out the necessary environmental impact assessments and the detailed environmental assessment of any application.

I can report progress. Two years ago I considered approximately 114 applications. I considered 137 last year and this year the number will be more than 200. When one considers the record of my predecessor in this area and the number of applications that were even considered, it will be evident that we are making significant progress.

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