Michael McCarthy (Labour)

There is no full Department of the marine. It is unfair to expect the Minister of State to pioneer the legislation through the House, notwithstanding his vast ministerial experience. There are a plethora of Departments now dealing with marine matters. What used to be the Department of the Marine has been dismantled. It is now spread across the Departments of Communication, Energy and Natural Resources, Transport, Arts, Sport and Tourism and Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. It was unclear until September of last year whether or not Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Mary Coughlan, who was then Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, would take responsibility for fisheries.

We are dealing with a marine issue. I am not the spokesperson on transport for the Labour Party, I am the Labour Party spokesperson on the marine. This issue is a marine matter. What happened to the mussel industry in Cromane during the summer was a debacle. The ban has now been lifted. I spent most of the summer trying to get information from the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy John Gormley, who tic-tacked back with the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food on the issue. There was no sole Minister with political responsibility for the matter. An Einstein in a Department somewhere in Dublin decided to introduce a ban on mussel fishing in Cromane.

I made the point at length on that occasion that aquaculture and special areas of conservation could coexist. I may as well have been talking to myself. That ban has been lifted and we still have not found out the name of the genius who mooted the ban in the first instance. This is not fair on the Minister of State as he is a Minister of State at the Department of Transport. Who is responsible for this mess?

I will make a number of points on this legislation that directly affect Bantry Bay and the Bantry Bay Harbour Board. Where was the courtesy and common decency? There was no consultation with the local people on the Bill. There was a commitment given to meet them to discuss their concerns. Have we learnt anything in recent times? We have preached at length about consultation and communication in the North and other significant political areas of the country, and yet in an area as critical as this, a commitment is given to group of people in Bantry and is never followed through. That is discourteous.

It is also difficult to expect the Minister of State, Deputy Noel Ahern, who is not attached to the Department that should be dealing with this at junior ministerial level, to deal with this. It is unfair to him.