Peter Fitzpatrick (Louth, Fine Gael)
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1295. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason the record for a person (details supplied) cannot be recognised in each of the years 2006 to 2016 and to date in 2017 under the Dundalk cockle Natura permits policy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36838/17]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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The qualifying criteria for eligibility for a fisheries Natura permit to fish for cockles in Dundalk Bay is set down in the Dundalk Cockle Natura Permits Policy 2016-2020. This policy is available at the website www.fishingnet.ie, the Government's commercial sea-fishing network portal.

Under the heading “Cockle dredge fishery”, point 2 of the policy states: "Permits will normally be issued in the first instance to ‘priority group 1’ – i.e. those vessels that have already established track record with the Department in the years 2009-2013 or vessels that have acquired the capacity of a vessel with such established track record. No new applications to establish track record will be accepted."

The person whose details are supplied was granted a fisheries Natura permit for the 2017 Dundalk cockle fishery for the vessel Bee-Jay which has established track record.