Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am replying on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Coveney. I thank Senator Grace O'Sullivan for raising the matter. Earlier this month my colleague, the Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government, Deputy Damien English, outlined to the Dáil the background and context to the decision that was made in this case and I welcome the opportunity to provide similar details to the Seanad.

The history of the hand harvesting of seaweed and the uses or further processing that traditionally followed harvesting will be known to many. Over time and particularly in recent years more sophisticated uses have been found for the properties contained in seaweed. This has led to the development of cutting edge bio-pharma and similar businesses based on seaweed. These businesses face many challenges, one of which is the security of supply of seaweed, their most essential raw material. A number of applications were submitted over the years to mechanically harvest seaweed, but this licence is the first to be granted. The Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government does not plan to grant any similar licence before the environmental monitoring data, the provision of which is a condition of the licence, is fully analysed.The indigenous Irish company that has been granted this licence had previously applied to harvest in Kenmare Bay. At that time, experts recommended that for an application to be approved it should focus on the areas outside of the special areas of conservation, SAC, and should include a commitment to conduct a detailed programme of monitoring. The application to harvest in Bantry Bay, which was originally received in June 2009, met with this criteria and was processed in the normal way. Normal public consultation procedures were followed, after which the marine licence vetting committee, an ad hocgroup of experts which has, for many years, advised successive Ministers on foreshore related matters, undertook a technical evaluation of the application and recommended that a licence should issue. Approval in principle was given by the former Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, John Gormley, in 2011. He agreed with the conclusion that, subject to compliance with the specific conditions attached to the licence, the proposal was not likely to have a significant negative impact on the marine environment. The final legal papers giving effect to the decision were completed by the then Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Alan Kelly in 2014.

The licence is of a trial nature and was granted for a period of ten years, commencing in 2014. It allows for the mechanical harvest of certain kelp species within five specified zones but with only one zone to be harvested in any one year. The planned rotation is four years with the fifth zone being a standby zone to be used only if weather prevents access to a zone in any particular year. On average, less than 1% of the bay will be harvested annually and much of the kelp in the bay will not be subject to harvest at all. The inclusion of a standby zone, which under the lease only comes into play in place of one of the other zones if needed, reduces the overall area for harvest by almost 100 ha to a maximum of approximately 650 ha. The licence is of a trial nature and can provide significant environmental data through a programme of monitoring and control, which can inform further policy development in this area. The agreed monitoring programme is available to view on my Department's website. It includes measurements of the kelp as well other flaura and fauna in both the control and harvest areas within the licensed area before commencement of the harvest. Over the lifetime of the licence, my Department will also receive an annual report on harvesting activities to include the area and quantities harvested and measured regeneration rates of the seaweed. In the event of an unacceptable impact on the environment being observed, the licence allows the Minister to modify or restrict harvest practices and schedules as necessary.

I understand that the Irish company which was granted this licence a number of years ago has, in good faith, made significant investment relating to the proposal. A harvest vessel has already been commissioned. Studies relating to the potential impact of the harvesting and a baseline assessment of flora and fauna in the harvesting site has been completed. Further expenditure will be incurred in regard to the agreed monitoring programme. It is envisaged that the data gathered through the monitoring programme will feed into further policy formulation and proposals in the general area of seaweed harvesting. I expect the information gathered in Bantry to be very useful in this regard.