Vol. 500 No. 3
40 Mr. Flanagan asked the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources if his attention has been drawn to the concerns of the herring and shellfish fisheries regarding the extraction of aggregates from an area south of Waterford har bour; and the measures, if any, he is taking to allay their concerns. [3728/99]
An application for a foreshore licence to allow the extraction of aggregates from a small area of the sea bed south of Waterford Harbour was made in 1991. In the course of considering this application the applicant was required to submit an environmental impact statement, EIS, and also to carry out a pilot survey during which, on 10 December 1996, it extracted up to 200 tonnes of sea bed material from an area within the area for which a licence is sought under the Foreshore Acts.
The EIS was available for public consultation for a period of one month from 30 June 1998. Arising from this process I received a large number of objections to the proposal, mainly relating to the possibility of adverse impacts upon the herring, spawning, grounds and lobster fisheries.
Further information was obtained in relation to the proposed extraction and its likely effects in order to allow for full consideration to be given to the objections by my Department and its specialist advisers.
I expect to be in a position to make a decision on the matter later this month.
