Dáil debates

Wednesday, 21 June 2017

Topical Issue Debate

Aquaculture Licences

6:30 pm

Photo of Pearse DohertyPearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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Tá mé iontach buíoch go bhfuil an cheist seo roghnaithe mar is ábhar iontach tábhachtach é, go háirithe do mo Dháilcheantar féin i dTír Chonaill, ach tá a fhios agam ó a bheith ag caint leis an Teachta Ferris go bhfuil an rud céanna amhlaidh i gContae Chiarraí agus go leor ceantar eile. Countless coastal communities are living in a state of constant dread and unease as their coasts face an uncertain future. I speak, of course, about the imposition of large-scale, poorly planned and in some instances, unsightly aquaculture developments. The prospect of trestles and other cultivation equipment on beaches and scenic locations for proposed oyster farms has created much anxiety in areas where it is felt that should such developments get the go head, much harm would be done to the local marine environment and its lure as a natural amenity with potential consequences for tourism, recreation and the wider local economy.

Communities in my county of Donegal have been left in limbo for months on end while controversial decisions about licence applications for oyster farms are still pending while decisions on appeal have still to be reached for others. Let us take the example of Cruit Strand. A period of public and statutory consultation into the licence application ended last October. I had the honour of addressing locals there at that time. We prepared the submissions. The area is not supportive of the type of large-scale aquaculture planned for that area. The local community is still waiting for a determination. The consultation ended in October yet we are now facing into July. This is in spite of the Department having received over 3,200 individual submissions from the local community regarding the development at Cruit Strand and the neighbouring strand. There is a legitimate question here. When is the community going to get a decision from the Department? Not only has the Department not made a decision, it cannot tell the community when a decision is likely. At scenic points such as Rann na Feirste, Rann na Mónagh, Cionn Caslach and Charraig Fhinn, places where natural beauty has acted as an inspiration for countless literary works, artists and musicians and to which people continue to flock each year, there are real concerns at plans to erect major oyster farms on its foreshore.

At Carrickfinn, permission was granted by the Department for the development of some 99 acres of pristine coast land at Braade Strand and Gaoth Dobhair Bay. If the Minister of State has ever flown into Carrickfinn, he will know all about it. It has been labelled the second best airport landing strip in the world. The local community there is still waiting to hear the outcome of appeals lodged earlier this year. My question to the Minister of State is simple and I speak on behalf of the thousands of people who have lodged applications. I speak for those who are waiting day after day to find out if this Department and the process is going to allow for their pristine strand and bay to be ruined and scarred in this way. Why are these communities, and countless more like them, forced to endure months of uncertainty while the Minister of State and his Department have sat on their hands?

All we have to do is look at the recent report from the independent review group, which was set up by the Department itself. It has criticised the length of time that determinations are taking. It has found that the current public and statutory consultation process is hugely flawed, including the method of informing the public of planned developments. None of what I have said should be taken or interpreted as saying that we are opposed to aquaculture or that aquaculture is a bad thing. No-one is against that in principle. However, people are against developments which are disproportionately large in both size and scale, which are scattered along the coast without any thought to the impact it would have on the local community, and what we in Sinn Féin have continually called for is that these developments only be granted where it is deemed to be sustainable and commensurate with the area and locality in which these activities are to be carried out.

What action is the Minister of State going to take to protect these communities, particularly with regard to the licence applications at Ranafast and at Cruit, and appeals against Carrickfinn. When are communities going to be taken out of limbo and told that these large-scale aquaculture developments will not go ahead on the Minister of State's watch?

6:40 pm

Photo of Andrew DoyleAndrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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An aquaculture licence is required by law for the cultivation of finfish, shellfish and certain marine plants such as seaweed. My Department considers all applications for aquaculture licences in accordance with the provisions of the Fisheries (Amendment) Act 1997, the Foreshore Act 1933 and applicable EU legislation. The process involves consultation with a wide range of scientific and technical advisers as well as various statutory consultees. The legislation also provides for a period of public consultation. In addition, my Department must adhere to a wide range of regulatory requirements and other legislation which impact on the licensing process.

A key component of the aquaculture licensing process is a series of measures designed to address the impact of aquaculture on the environment. This series is known as appropriate assessment, AA. This process arose from a European Court of Justice, ECJ, case against Ireland in 2007. The Court of Justice 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 that directive. The EU habitats and birds directives have resulted in the designation of certain bays by the National Parks and Wildlife Service as special areas of conservation or special protection areas for birds, or both. These are known as NATURA 2000 sites and most aquaculture takes place within them, or adjacent to them. In the negotiations to address the ECJ judgement, the Department agreed a process with the European Commission and the National Parks and Wildlife Service which would govern the State’s processing of aquaculture licence applications. The AA process is managed in the main by the Marine Institute via environmental and scientific contractors commissioned by the Institute to carry out the necessary field work and desk analysis. To date, the Marine Institute has submitted appropriate assessments on 24 bays to my Department.

On the environmental impact assessment and screening process, all aquaculture licence applications must be either accompanied by an environmental impact statement, EIS, which is mandatory in the case of marine finfish cultivation or, in the case of shellfish cultivation, applications must be the subject of a detailed screening process with a view to determining whether an EIS is required. The screening process is managed by a screening group comprised of officials from the Marine Institute, Bord lascaigh Mhara, my Department’s marine engineering division and my Department’s aquaculture and foreshore management division. This group examines in detail the characteristics, location and potential environmental impact of each application. The screening assessment process complies fully with applicable European regulations, requirements and guidance documents. In addition, the ministerial decision arising from the screening process is published on the Department's website.

On statutory and public consultation, the legislation specifically provides for periods of statutory and public consultation in respect of aquaculture licence applications, and I can assure the Deputy that all observations received - he mentioned 3,200 in the case of two bays in County Donegal - are considered by the Department. Furthermore, any member of the public who wishes to appeal a ministerial decision may do so by submitting an appeal to the Aquaculture Licences Appeals Board, which is an independent body established by statue. An applicant can also avail of this appeal process.

Photo of Pat GallagherPat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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I have to interrupt the Minister of State. His time has expired, and I have to give an opportunity to speak to Deputy Doherty.

Photo of Andrew DoyleAndrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Can the rest of my notes be included in the record?

Photo of Pat GallagherPat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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No, it is not a parliamentary question. We will get copies.

Photo of Andrew DoyleAndrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I think copies have been circulated.

Photo of Pearse DohertyPearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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The Minister of State mentioned that an EIS is required for finfish, and the Department can carry out a screening for shellfish. The Department waived the requirement for an EIS in this application, which 3,200 people in the community expressed concern about. I am not sure if the Minister of State is familiar with the community, and I know he is still new to the Department. I am not sure if the Minister, Deputy Michael Creed, before he issued the ministerial direction which waived the requirement for an EIS to be carried out on that large-scale development, ever set foot in that part of our country. If he stood on the bridge on the way to Cruit and looked at where the trestles would go on and on, he would not have put pen to paper. If he stood in Ranafast, in Rann na Mónagh, in Annagry and Carrickfinn and looked out at the bay at what 99 acres of aquaculture would look like, and then thought about the Wild Atlantic Way, the tourism, the culture and the beauty of that area, he would not have put pen to paper. It has given the inspiration for so many of our literary works, which are studied by our children at school, and music which is enjoyed by people not only the length and breadth of this island, but also further afield. That natural environment is where people and artists draw their inspiration from. He would never have put pen to paper to waive this requirement if he had looked at the area.

The Minister's own review has shown that the process is flawed. I and my party, including our local councillors, Ms Marie Therese Gallagher and Mr. John Sheamuis O’Fearraigh, put together a serious submission to that review. Thankfully, certain parts of it have been upheld. This process is flawed. It is taking too long to make determinations. We want two things. We want the Government to fix the process, to speed up the level of determination, and we want it to ensure that those communities will not be scarred indefinitely as a result of an aquaculture licence which is too large in scale and in nature.

I support many communities and many small entrepreneurs in securing aquaculture licences. I believe that oyster farming is a good thing in size and scale. These applications are way out of the norm and should be refused.

Photo of Andrew DoyleAndrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I was going to get to the aquaculture licensing review group in the final part of my opening statement. Some 385 submissions were received. There are 30 recommendations which are being considered. I cannot pre-empt what decision will be made, but the Department is currently considering that report. With regard to the Kincasslagh and Gaoth Dobhair bays, I understand the Keadue Strand application has been withdrawn, so it is down to 1,700 to do with the Cruit Strand. I cannot answer why the EIS by the Department was not sanctioned, but nonetheless, 1,700 submissions are being considered, and I expect that is part of the reason for the slowness of the process.

6 o’clock

I would also agree, no more than with an An Bord Pleanála appeal for planning, that at some stage we must have a definite horizon set on appeals for everybody's sake.

Some of the 385 submissions on the licensing review group were from the industry who would say it is too prescriptive. In the previous Dáil, I chaired a sub-committee where one of the areas seen as really having potential was appropriate aquaculture. Given that so many of the bays and inlets being designated under Natura 2000 and the applications relating either to them or adjacent to them, everybody agrees a lot of care is needed.

I would make one final point. It is not indefinite. Every structure, such as trellises, that is put in is removable and much more easily removed than a lot of other big infrastructure developments.

The idea behind the licensing review group's work was to try and make this work more efficiently for everybody, the industry, the developers - if one wants to call them that - and the local communities, so that they work in harmony. Consultation at any stage at the earliest possible point in any process is the key to it.

Sitting suspended at 6 p.m. and resumed at 6.40 p.m.