Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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241. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government if his Department has received a report on the extent of land folios existing here with appurtenant seaweed harvesting rights attached to them; and the way these may interact with current legislation or the proposed marine area and foreshore amendment Bill; and if he will be making that report available to the Houses of the Oireachtas. [28542/16]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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My Department sought the advice of the Office of the Attorney General on the interaction between the Foreshore Act and any relevant appurtenant rights, that is, rights that attach to a piece of land close to the foreshore to collect or harvest seaweed. In addition, my Department engaged with the Property Registration Authority of Ireland, PRAI, to attempt to establish the extent of appurtenant rights specified in Land Registry folios to harvest seaweed that may exist. The PRAI provided my Department with data detailing the extent of the rights in seven of the western seaboard counties, namely, Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Clare, Galway, Mayo and Donegal. This was a complex task, given the manner in which the requested data is held by the PRAI and having regard to both the PRAI's and my Department's obligations under data protection legislation.

From information provided by the PRAI, it is clear that many appurtenant rights to collect seaweed exist, and the implications of such rights regarding the harvesting applications before my Department and the proposed Maritime Area and Foreshore (Amendment) Bill are being assessed.

Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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242. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the progress which has been made by his Department to implement the recommendations in the May 2015 report of the former Joint Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht on developing the seaweed industry in Ireland. [28543/16]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The May 2015 report of the Joint Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht on Developing the Seaweed Industry in Ireland puts forward 8 recommendations for developing the industry.However, I have no statutory role in the promotion or development of the seaweed industry. Under the Foreshore Act 1933, I am responsible for regulating only the harvesting of wild seaweed and the report does make a number of recommendations in this regard.

Any regulatory regime must seek to balance existing rights and commercial potential while ensuring sustainability of the resource and compliance with the State’s obligations under EU environmental law. In that regard, the interaction between the Foreshore Act 1933 and traditional rights to harvest seaweed that may exist in certain places is under consideration by my Department in the context of advice from the Office of the Attorney General.

Options for the future licensing of seaweed harvesting, including the relevant recommendations contained in the Oireachtas Committee’s report, are currently under review.