Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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509. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government when will the west of Ireland harvesting licence for seaweed be granted. [22768/14]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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Under section 3 of the Foreshore Act 1933, a licence is required to harvest seaweed from State owned foreshore.  A number of foreshore licence applications have been received and are currently under assessment by my Department. These applications vary considerably and are made by both individual and commercial harvesters. The species and amounts of seaweed proposed to be harvested are also varied, ranging from very small quantities of Carrigeen Moss to significant volumes of Ascophylum Nodosum.

All foreshore licence applications are subject to public consultation and any person may submit comments to my Department.  All applications are published on my Department’s website in addition to being advertised in local newspapers and being made available to view locally. All applications are being assessed in the context of the relevant regulatory framework including any obligations that may arise under the EU Birds and Habitats Directives. Following the conclusion of that assessment in each case and the recommendations of the Marine Licence Vetting Committee and my Department, I will be in a position to make determinations on the applications.

The licensing of seaweed harvesting is currently under review in the context of the proposed Maritime Area and Foreshore (Amendment) Bill.