Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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255. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will report on the efforts he and his Department officials are making to resolve the jurisdiction conflict over Lough Foyle with the British Government; if he is aware that this unresolved conflict has led to a large and unregulated aquaculture sector along the Inishowen banks of the lough; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5466/23]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The UK Government assertion of jurisdiction over the whole of Lough Foyle has never been accepted by Ireland and this position remains unchanged.

In 2011 the then Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade agreed with the British Foreign Secretary that the British and Irish Governments would seek to resolve the jurisdictional issues relating to both Lough Foyle and Carlingford Lough. 

Since 2011 there have been a number of meetings at official level between the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office. My Department has also consulted with other relevant Departments on specific issues and concerns relating to Lough Foyle. This includes the licensing of aquaculture in the Lough. 

The issues involved in these discussions are complex and involve a range of different stakeholders and actors in both the UK and Ireland. Nevertheless, the Government remains committed to resolving the jurisdictional issues related to the Lough.