Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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283. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Question No. 219 of 25 November 2014, if he will provide a copy of the terms of reference, scoping information or direction provided for this programme of risk assessment undertaken by the Marine Institute in respect of species protected under the annexes of the habitats directive, which was referred to in the response; if he will provide a copy of any reports, findings and recommendations and all outputs the Marine Institute prepared in the execution of the risk assessment for species protected under the annexes of the habitats directive, which was referred to in the response; when the risk assessment was conducted; the resources that were made available to the Marine Institute to execute this study; if he will provide a copy of the guidance from the Commission, which he referred to in his response; if he will provide a copy of the programme of measures, which he referred to; the priorities identified; the way these have been prioritised; the way their delivery is being addressed, and the resources that are involved; the persons responsible for the programme of measures he referred to; if any report on the programme of measures is available; if he will provide a copy of same, or if he will indicate when it will be available; if the programme of measures referred to the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union on case c-183/05 or if he will specify what the programme of measures is in response to; when the further programme of measures and outcomes referred to, as being necessary, are going to be specified; if he will specify what they pertain to; if he will provide a copy of same, if they are available; if he will provide a copy of the Commission opinion on the programme of measures which he referred to; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7098/15]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The European Union (Birds and Natural Habitats) (Sea-fisheries) Regulations 2013 (S.I. 290 of 2013 as amended by S.I. 565 of 2014) provides processes for the assessment and management of sea-fisheries activities to ensure that the activities are compatible with the objectives of the Birds and Habitats Directives. A number of assessments have been concluded to date in accordance with the regulations and Fisheries Natura Declarations have been introduced to manage certain sea-fisheries, taking account of the conclusions of these assessments. I understand that the Marine Institute has conducted these assessments in accordance with best scientific practice and recommended methodologies where available.

In response to the ECJ judgment in case C-418/04, multi-annual funding was made available by both my Department and the former Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government to undertake data collection and baseline studies. This work is now substantially complete and my Department continues to provide funding for, inter alia, assessments of the interactions of sea-fisheries and aquaculture with marine Natura 2000 sites. The allocation of other resources involved is an operational matter for the Marine Institute. The Programme of Measures responding to case C-418/04 sets out the actions taken to date by Ireland in response to the Judgment of the Court together with commitments for further action to ensure that remaining issues have been dealt with. The preparation of the Programme and monitoring of its implementation is led by the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht.

The majority of the marine Natura 2000 sites concerned are coastal and located within Ireland's 12 nautical mile limit. I established the National Inshore Fisheries Forum (NIFF), built on a network of Regional Inshore Fisheries Forums (RIFFs), specifically to give inshore fishermen and their communities a voice in policy making and decisions on inshore fisheries management and to work with the Department and the marine agencies in developing robust, scientifically sound measures to support sustainable fisheries into the future. The first meeting of the NIFF took place on 15 January and the delegates received a presentation from the Marine Institute on the processes involved in the preparation of the assessment reports.

In addition to those assessments already published, the Marine Institute has recently submitted an assessment of sea-fisheries in all marine Special Areas of Conservation on the south and west coasts which is currently under active consideration in my Department. A prioritised approach is necessary to address an assessment of this scale and I am particularly conscious of the need for stakeholder engagement at all stages of this policy development in accordance with EU environmental legislation and the Common Fisheries Policy. For this reason, my Department is working closely with the Marine Institute, the Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority and an Bord Iascaigh Mhara to prepare a draft prioritised approach which I look forward to publishing with the assessment report for public consultation and for discussion with the NIFF.

A number of the documents requested by the Deputy are publically available on websites including the Department's fishing portal website and the websites of other organisations. For the Deputy's ease of reference, the current links are listed in the following table.