Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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319. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine given that it is over a year since the closure of the public consultation on trawling within Ireland's six nautical mile limit, and given that trawling continues to take place within areas such as Kenmare Bay, which is part of the Kenmare River Special Area of Conservation, when the results of the public consultation will be published; when he will make a decision on this matter; if he is committed to implementing the commitment made in the Programme for Government to promote the sustainability of Ireland’s fish stocks and to support the inshore fishing sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21986/25]

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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In 2018, a transition period to a ban on vessels over 18 metres trawling in inshore waters, inside the six nautical mile zone and the baselines, was announced. This measure, however, was the subject of extended legal proceedings resulting in the measure being overturned in 2023.

In 2024, over a period of eight weeks, the Minister held a new public consultation on a review of trawling activity inside the six nautical mile zone and the baselines. The consultation took place without prejudice.

The purpose of this consultation was to invite stakeholders and interested parties to advise of their views on any changes to policy within the scope of this review. The volume of submissions received was considerable – over 5,500 submissions were received, which was more than six times greater than submissions received during the 2018 consultation, further highlighting the increased public interest in the matter. The sheer volume of detailed submissions takes time to collate and fully analyse.