Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)

While I do not doubt the Minister of State's sincerity when he says the issue of licensing is amply covered in the Bill, I have grave doubts whether that is the case. While I do not want to be parochial in talking about Bantry Bay, Dunmanus Bay, the Sheep's Head, Bere Island and other areas I represent, my concerns stem from the fact that a week ago in this House, Senators expressed their concerns that there is a 17-month delay in issuing aquaculture licences for whatever location, be it Bantry, Lough Swilly or wherever. If there is currently a 17-month delay, what will happen when this Bill is enacted? While I recognise the issues come under the remit of different Departments with some degree of overlap, I am not convinced the provisions in this Bill will allay my fears regarding the area I represent.

The sea fishing industry as we have known it is contracting and there are less fish in the sea. However, there are enormous possibilities for development of aquaculture and mariculture. I would be failing the people I represent, not only this generation but future generations, if we are stymied because of over-zoning, over-managment or plans like the SACs which are sometimes done without thought. We had a rumble in Cromane where they can no longer harvest mussels. It is another matter, but it is the same principle. That is why I am worried and concerned, and I ask the Minister of State to take these concerns on board, because the people in Cromane in Kerry can no longer harvest mussels — we do it with suspended ropes and they have a ground harvesting system — and the industry has been stifled. A small industry in a small part of Kerry has been destroyed. I do not doubt the authenticity of the Minister of State, but I have grave concerns about moving forward with the development of areas such as aquaculture and mariculture.

I will be blunt. I am being asked to accept that a port company in Cork — a commercial company with a different remit and agenda — will take over Bantry Bay and Harbour entirely. If that is the case, the issues Senator Cummins has raised concerning licences, coastal area management, coastal zone management and county council plans and developments are relevant. We have a wonderful asset. Bantry Bay is the second finest bay in the world. It is one of the finest in Europe. We are giving control of this asset to someone else.

Let us take another angle, that of zoning, planning and over-regulation. People in the mussel industry are depending on tides and so on at certain times of the year. They pick spat, which are the mussel seeds from the rocks. These are collected by small farmers who make a few bob doing this. Traditionally the spat, in my grandfather's time, was used for fertilising land, in the same manner as seaweed. We have a new proposal which believes this was something historic. The spat was a foundation stone and the seed that acts as a catalyst for the mussel industry. They are put into stocking which are suspended out at sea, and because we have a very rich bay with wonderful vitamins in the water, they can grow and expand, and eventually they are harvested and sold. We have created an industry out of it.

I am passionate about this because this never happened in Bantry Bay when I was a young fellow. We had Whiddy Oil, which was thriving, and Gulf Oil which created many jobs in the area. The biggest single disaster was the Betelgeuse disaster at Whiddy terminal on the 8th January 1979 when 50 people lost their lives. I knew many of the people who died on that occasion. Arsing from that, we formed an action committee and the locals asked if they could do something. They set up a mussel industry, which now comprises of two factories in the bay and employees 300 to 400 people, directly or indirectly. I am concerned that some of this legislation may adversely affect what we have created. I do not want people to say to me in five years time, "We sent Senator O'Donovan from west Cork; he was blind and did not avert what was happening here".

I understand what the Minister of State is saying, but it was confirmed at a committee last week — I am not a member of the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, but I attended the meeting — that it now takes 17 months to process an aquaculture licence. I do not know why it takes so long. There must be some reason. Are they being delayed until such time as Bantry Harbour Board and Bantry Bay are taken over by another company or organisation, after which the fishing industry will be forgotten? As a representative of coastal communities I cannot allow that to happen.

I am sorry for digressing but this is a very serious issue. There are unintended, if genuine, consequences of what is being planned. Senator Cummins has made some valid points. I am worried that there will be unforeseen consequences if this legislation is passed. There are many wheels within wheels. We are up against Cork County Council, the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. This Bill is under the remit of another Department, the Department of Transport.

The mussel man who sets out from Bantry on a foggy morning at 7 a.m. with his oilskins, wellingtons and sandwich box is asking if he will be finished because we will make a faux pas here. I know the Minister of State wants to reflect on this and I am sure he will. He has read some of his official notes and I am not saying they are wrong. I have deep-felt concerns, and I will outline them if I have to on Report Stage. I asked my Party Whip to defer Second Stage as I was attending a family wedding, and I was not given that courtesy. I have deeply-felt views on this, and as the day goes on my feelings will become deeper and my contributions will lengthen. I will not lie down easily on this issue.