Ann Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for raising this very important issue. I know exactly how people are thinking around the issue and I understand their concerns. I welcome my colleague, Senator Máiría Cahill, to the Seanad. Again, I thank Senator Ó Clochartaigh for raising the issue and allowing me the opportunity to set out where the Department stands on regulating the harvesting of wild seaweed under the 1933 Foreshore Act.

The Department has received a number of applications under section 3 of the Foreshore Act for licences to harvest seaweed. As has been outlined in previous debates, the applications are varied, being made by both individuals and commercial harvesters. The applications range from very small-scale harvesting of niche seaweed species to large-scale commercial harvesting, as the Senator pointed out. All foreshore lease or licence applications must be assessed in the context of the applicable regulatory framework. Public participation is a requirement of the foreshore consenting process and a number of submissions received by my Department expressed the view that certain rights to harvest seaweed exist, with some submissions referring to such rights to collect seaweed.

My Department sought the advice of the Office of the Attorney General on the interaction between the Foreshore Act and any relevant appurtenant rights, that is, rights that attach to a piece of land close to the foreshore to collect or harvest seaweed. My Department has engaged with the Property Registration Authority of Ireland, PRAI, to attempt to establish the extent of appurtenant rights specified in Land Registry folios to harvest seaweed that may exist. On foot of this request, the PRAI has provided my Department with data detailing the extent of the rights in seven of the western seaboard counties, namely, Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Clare, Galway, Mayo and Donegal. I acknowledge the valuable assistance of the PRAI in compiling the information for my Department. It was a complex task, given the manner in which the requested data is held by the PRAI and having regard to both the PRAI's and my Department's obligations under data protection legislation.

From information provided by the PRAI, it is clear that appurtenant rights to collect seaweed exist, and the implications of such rights regarding the harvesting applications before my Department are being assessed. It is important that these rights, including the location and scale of such rights, are fully considered to inform the evaluation and determination of such harvesting applications. This process is ongoing.