Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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492. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government his views on kelp harvesting in Bantry Bay; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [63629/22]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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My Department operates a consenting regime under the Foreshore Act 1933 (as amended), managing a range of different marine activities and infrastructural developments. Section 3 of the Act provides for the granting of a licence for the removal of or the disturbance of beach material on the Foreshore.

Beach material is defined in the Act and includes in its definition “seaweed whether growing or rooted on the seashore or deposited or washed up thereon by the action of tides, winds, and waves or any of them”.

In considering an application for a foreshore consent, it must be verified that the particular activity complies with regulations that will safeguard the ecological integrity of the proposed site in view of the site's conservation objectives under the under Article 6(3) of the Habitats Directive and also have regard to the requirements of the Environmental Impact Assessment Directive. The activity must also be deemed to be in the public interest.

In addition to licensed wild seaweed harvesting, there also exists the right of individuals to harvest wild seaweed, namely those who hold appurtenant rightsand profite-a-prendrerights. Their rights to harvest wild seaweed may be related to a property known as a folio or appurtenant rightor built up through harvesting from the same area over a period of time known as a profit-a-prendre rights. The process of registering seaweed harvesting rights on a property folio is matter for the Property Registration Authority of Ireland.

Advice provided by the Attorney General’s Office in 2018 to my Department was that these rights were to be respected. Therefore, where these rights apply, a licence under the 1933 Foreshore Act is not required by the holder of that right in order to harvest seaweed, nor can any other entity be licenced under the Foreshore Act to harvest seaweed in an area where existing formal or informal rights to harvest seaweed already exist.

Ireland's National Marine Planning Framework commits to supporting the sustainable harvesting of seaweed, having regard to the important economic and social contribution it makes to coastal communities. However, it is agreed that there is currently a need for enhanced policy development in this area that would offer strong economic supports, at a time when the sector is attempting to capitalise on the growing uses for seaweed and its by-products emerging across a number of industries.

The Marine Institute’s has also contracted a Socio-Economic Study of Seaweed Harvesting in Ireland with a view to promoting the sustainable development of our marine resources; safeguarding our marine environment through research and environmental monitoring and realising the economic potential of Ireland’s 220 million acre marine resource. My Department will consider the findings of this study and its role in supporting the development of wide ranging national policy for this sector.

It is also worth noting that in accordance with Schedule 7 of the Maritime Area Planning Act 2021 the disturbance, harvesting or removal of seaweed will require an appropriate licence from the new Maritime Area Regulatory Authority (MARA) once established and operational. This will mean that the existing regulatory arrangements for seaweed harvesting under the Foreshore Act will be replaced by a modern, fit for purpose consenting regime managed by the new consenting body. Significant progress is being made by my Department in the establishment of this agency and the implementation of these new arrangements.

In relation to kelp harvesting in Bantry Bay, I am aware of an ongoing judicial review concerning a licence granted under the Foreshore Act 1933 for such activity and therefore, I’m not in a position to provide any views as the matter remains sub judice.