Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

All applications for aquaculture licences for the cultivation of salmon are considered in accordance with an extensive suite of national and EU legislation, including the Fisheries (Amendment) Act 1997, the Foreshore Act 1993, the EU birds and habitats directives and the consolidated environmental impact assessment directives of 2014. This suite of legislation provides for stringent consideration and consultation in respect of the environmental and ecological impacts of the proposed activity, as well as extensive consultation opportunities with both the public and statutory bodies regarding all aspects of the application including tourism.

All applications for salmon farm licences must be accompanied by a detailed environmental impact assessment report. This report forms a key element of the deliberative process and is fully assessed by my Department’s scientific and technical advisers. The reports are, furthermore, subject to scrutiny and assessment by a significant number of prescribed statutory consultees. The environmental impact assessment report and application form are also made available to the public as part of a public consultation process.

The statutory consultees include Bord Fáilte Ireland, whose role is to support long-term sustainable growth of the economic, social, cultural and environmental contribution of tourism to this country. The views of Bord Fáilte and of all statutory consultees, together with the views of the public as submitted as part of the public consultation process, are taken fully into account in arriving at a determination in respect of the aquaculture application. The consideration of the impacts on local ecology and tourism constitute an important element of my Department's consideration of any application for an aquaculture licence, and rightly so. It is a comprehensive and detailed assessment, with significant public consultation.

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