Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Yes, but I will pass on Senator Ó Clochartaigh's concerns to the Minister myself. Obviously, this is a very complex issue. The Department is in the process of assessing, with the assistance of the Attorney General, the legal interface between traditional harvesting rights and the current application. That is a very complex issue. It has to be dealt with. It takes time to make sure that it has the proper information. As I said, I would hope that there will be a decision on this by mid-2017 or earlier. It is hoped that will bring a conclusion to the situation. I do not want to comment on it at the moment because it is ongoing and the Attorney General's office is dealing with it but it is something of concern, particularly to small-time producers or collectors of seaweed on the west coast. They are often small-time farmers for whom this is an auxiliary income to supplement the small income they get from farming. I would be very conscious of that.