Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. He has been in touch with me on a number of occasions to discuss the matter as it relates to operators in his constituency and further afield. I had an opportunity during the summer to visit Quinlan's Kerry Fish with the Deputy and see at first hand the implications of the issue.

As somebody new to the Department, I recognised from the first that there is a significant problem with licensing. I have undertaken a job of work to try to address this. It will take time but we are working our way through it. I know at first hand the positivity that exists in terms of Irish aquaculture and the demand for the product overseas. Just three weeks ago, I was in Qingdao in China with Irish fishermen, fisherwomen and processors promoting Irish seafood to the Asian market. There is a significant and growing demand, but it is incumbent the State to get the licensing aspect right. I have identified it as a priority and I am working my way through it. Insofar as I can, I will try to address the questions the Deputy asked.

By way of background, the Department considers all applications for aquaculture licences in accordance with the following legislation: the Fisheries (Amendment) Act 1997; SI 236, the Aquaculture (Licence Application) Regulations 1998; the Foreshore Act 1993, as amended; SI 477, the European Communities (Birds and Natural Habitats) Regulations 2011; a consolidated environmental impact assessment directive of 2014; and the Aarhus Convention. The criteria to which the licensing authority shall have regard in determining an aquaculture licence application are set out in section 61 of the Fisheries (Amendment) Act 1997. The licensing process involves consultation with a wide range of scientific advisers as well as various statutory consultees, as set out in the aquaculture regulations. The legislation also provides for a period of public consultation, the timing and length of which depends on the initial screening assessments carried out by the Department and the Marine Institute.

The current appropriate assessment process arose from a European Court of Justice case against Ireland in 2007 in which the court declared that by failing to take all the measures necessary to comply with the EU habitats directive in respect of authorisation of aquaculture programmes, Ireland had failed to fulfil its obligations under the directive. A backlog of aquaculture licence applications developed following the judgment. In the negotiations to address the judgment and enable aquaculture to continue in the Natura 2000 areas in the interim, a process was agreed with the European Commission and subsequently implemented. That process included data collection, the setting of conservation objectives by the National Parks and Wildlife Service, NPWS, identifying the scientific interests to be protected in the bays, the carrying out of an appropriate assessment of the licence application against those scientific interests, and appropriate licensing, taking account of, among other factors, Natura 2000 requirements. This work involved multiple surveys being carried out by a range of contractors. Profiling of aquaculture activities was carried out for all the designated bays to define the likely interaction between such activities and the conservation features. All of this preliminary work to prepare the foundation for the consideration of the licence application process took place from 2009 onwards. Appropriate assessments started to become available from 2011, which allowed licensing to continue.

As the competent authority for aquaculture licensing, the Department is responsible for ensuring that all applications received are screened in the context of the birds and habitats directive. This work is undertaken by the Marine Institute and externally contracted ecological resources. The current policy in regard to shellfish applications is for the Marine Institute to also provide the Natura impact statements in respect of all applications received. This is a huge resource demand on the State. In addition, an application for a marine finfish licence must be accompanied by an environmental impact assessment report. The Department currently has 36 applications on hand for marine finfish aquaculture. Renewal applications are currently permitted to operate what is referred to as a section 19A (4) application.

A major delay in processing these applications was the requirement that they be accompanied by an environmental impact assessment report. Almost all the applicants concerned have now submitted finalised applications and environmental implementation reviews. A total of 14 applications have undergone a round of public and statutory consultation, with consultation expected to be held in respect of a number of further applications over the coming months. All applications and supporting documentation are made available on the Department's section of the gov.ie website as part of the consultation process. As the applications concerned are under consideration as part of a statutory process, it would not be appropriate for me to comment further on individual applications.

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