Vol. 542 No. 1
36 Mr. Deasy asked the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources the way in which his Department grant-aided aquaculture projects in County Waterford which had not been licensed; if the attention of the Comptroller and Auditor General was drawn to such grant aid in these circumstances; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23457/01]
Prior to the Fisheries (Amendment) Act, 1997, BIM provided grant aid to small-scale aquaculture projects in order to determine the feasibility of undertaking aquaculture at new locations as well as to assess the suitability of the site and the technical viability of pursuing a licence application. Subsequent to the coming into force of this legislation, which provides a new mechanism for the issue of trial licences, feasi bility-pilot grant assistance is only provided by BIM in accordance with the provisions of the Fisheries (Amendment) Act, 1997.
A number of small-scale projects at Woodstown Strand received feasibility-pilot grant assistance payments from BIM during 1995 and 1996. Of the projects originally receiving feasibility-pilot grant aid only one subsequently moved to commercial scale production. The operation is fully licensed under the Fisheries (Amendment) Act, 1997, in accordance with the decision of the Aquaculture Licence Appeals Board dated 17 July 1999. Payment of the EU co-funded investment support, conditionally awarded to the project in the 1998 tranche of awards under the aquaculture measure of the Operational Programme for Fisheries 1994-1999, was deferred in accordance with procedural arrangements, pending the final outcome of the licensing process. The Exchequer element of the award was paid by BIM in May 1998, on foot of Ministerial approval in principle for the project, and the final adjusted EU grant was paid out in line with the licence granted by the aquaculture licence appeals board.
Of the balance of projects originally receiving feasibility/pilot grant aid from BIM an "umbrella" licence application by the South and East Co-op is currently the subject of an appeal to the aquaculture licence appeals board against a Ministerial decision to grant a licence. All payments made by BIM under EU and national grant and schemes are governed by strict rules and regulations and subject to detailed independent audit. I am not aware that the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General has expressed any specific views on this particular issue.
