Clare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party)
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885. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will make available copies of the Norwegian Standard for Containment Systems NS94152009 which the environmental impact statement for the Galway Bay fish farm states will be adhered to in that proposed operation, stating to view relevant sections of NS 9415 2009 See Appendix 3, when in fact the standard is not included in the Galway Bay EIS Appendix 3 or anywhere else in the EIS; if he will explain the way the public can assess the standards used for fish farm construction if the standards are not publicly available; and if he will confirm that these are the standards that are applied to all Irish licensed operations. [13636/14]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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An application by Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM) for an aquaculture licence for the cultivation of finfish near Inis Oirr in Galway Bay was received by my Department in 2012. The application and its accompanying Environmental Impact Statement are being considered under the provisions of the 1997 Fisheries (Amendment) Act and the 1933 Foreshore Act.

The assessment process will take full account of all national and EU legislative requirements and will reflect the full engineering, scientific, environmental, legal and public policy aspects of the application.

There is always a strict separation between my Ministerial role as decision maker in respect of aquaculture licence applications and my Ministerial duty to promote the sustainable development of the industry. This separation of duties is strictly observed.

As the application is under active consideration as part of the statutory process it would not be appropriate for me to comment further at this time.