Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for raising this issue. I know it is of great importance to those in coastal regions. As he will be aware, the Department considers applications for aquaculture licences in accordance with the provisions of the Fisheries (Amendment) Act 1997, to which he referred, the Foreshore Act 1933 and applicable national and EU legislation. There are a number of statutory timeframes set out in the legislation in respect of aquaculture. The licensing process involves consultations with a wide range of scientific and technical advisers as well as various statutory consultees. The legislation also provides for a period of public consultation.

The statutory timeframes in respect of the public and statutory consultation processes are set out in SI 236/1998, as amended. In the case of shellfish or seaweed licensing, the legislation provides for a period of 30 days in which the public may make written submissions on the application, and for a six-week period in which the statutory consultees may make written submissions. In the case of fin fish, the timeframe for public and statutory consultation is eight weeks. Following the closing date of the public and statutory consultations, all submissions are sent to the applicant, who has the opportunity to submit written comments in respect of the submissions within three weeks of the date of issue.

The average time for processing an aquaculture licence varies, depending on location, species, scale and intensity of production, statutory status of sites, potential visual impact, etc. The Department takes full account of all scientific and technical advice, as well as all issues identified during the public and statutory consultation phases. Further factors that can impact the time taken to process an application include the requirement for an appropriate assessment if the application is within a Natura 2000 area; whether the application is required to be accompanied by an environmental impact statement or environmental impact assessment report; consideration of any submissions or observations raised during the public consultation period; and the need for additional underwater or archaeological assessments and the likes.

Once the Minister has made a determination in respect of an application, the legislation requires that the decision be published within 28 days. The Department places the reasons for the determination on the website of the Department and places a notice in the newspaper in which the applicant placed the application notice. Notice of the foreshore licensing determination is also placed in Iris Oifigiúil.

The legislation provides for an appeals mechanism. Within one month of the date of publication of the decision, interested parties can lodge an appeal to the aquaculture licences appeals board, ALAB, which is an independent statutory body. The timelines relating to the appeals process are a matter for ALAB. Foreshore licenses may also be appealed by way of judicial review.

It is important that the Senator is aware of the complex nature of the licensing process and the various statutory steps that must be adhered to. The Minister, Deputy McConalogue, recently launched phase 1 of the new state-of-the-art aquaculture information management system. The online viewer was developed in collaboration with the Marine Institute as part of phase 1 of this project which will develop an overall aquaculture management information system for aquaculture licences in Ireland. This delivers on the Government's commitment to the further implementation of the recommendations of the aquaculture licence review group. It is the first step in digitising the aquaculture licensing application process. The Department continually monitors all its services, including the licensing of aquaculture activities, to ensure we provide an efficient service to our customers while ensuring our environmental and legal obligations are adhered to.