Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

For the record, Senator David Cullinane indicated that he was postponing his matter.

Táim an-buíoch den Aire a theacht isteach agus an ábhar seo a thógáil ar an Athló, mar tuigim to bhfuil sé an-ghnóthach. I refer to the aquaculture sector in Ireland. As we know from many studies, some 83% of all employment in Irish aquaculture is along the western seaboard. Aquaculture is of great importance to coastal communities along the west coast. I have been very critical of the concept of all eggs in one basket being proposed by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Coveney, in respect of the massive fish farm planned off Inis Óirr in the Aran Islands. I do not think it is the right development but we recognise the potential to increase production and create employment along the west coast. We need to have an open and honest debate about its efficacy.

In many policy documents, the Government states it is in favour of developing the aquaculture sector through Harvest 2020, which talks about the potential for aquaculture production. One of the national policy goals for agriculture involves the significant scope to expand Ireland’s aquaculture industry, with increases expected from both conventional aquaculture and a new deep sea salmon farming initiative, amounting to a 78% increase in volume of production by 2020. An effective licensing system was viewed by many submissions as the single most important contribution the public sector can make to the development of the marine sector. Numerous submissions regarded the current licensing systems as a barrier to growth, for example, foreshore and aquaculture licensing and planning permission. It was felt that such systems must be fit-for-purpose, quick, consistent, efficient and transparent in order to attract investment.

I do not agree with the potential in the massive farm off the Aran Islands and more progressive growth of small farms along the western seaboard would be a better way to go but I do not want to focus on that issue. The frustration in the industry is the major backlog in the processing and renewal of licences. I would like the Minister to clarify why there is such a backlog. Why are people in the aquaculture industry finding it so hard to make ends meet, battling against storms, competitors in other areas and being held up when they apply for licences to be renewed or for new licences to be issued? The IFA estimates that, over the past five years, at least €60 million in public and private investment has been lost to coastal areas because producers awaiting licence decisions were barred by our national policy from accessing the equivalent public funding of 40% of capital expenditure allowed in every other EU member state under the European fisheries fund regulations. The backlog is not allowing farms to fish new species as opposed to the licence they have had for a number of years, such as moving from trout to a more lucrative species. In cases where people are fearful of storm damage coming to our shores over the weekend, a licence decision has made it impossible under Irish national rules to access capital expenditure funding or raise bank loans to secure their farms against bad weather with the best available equipment. It is a serious issue and is totally at the behest of the Department. Perhaps the Minister can clarify the backlog. Is it a staffing issue? Is it a policy issue and why is the Government not acting more quickly?