Amendment No. 39a is an alternative to amendment No. a39a and both amendments will be discussed together.
SECTION 70.
I move amendment No. a39a:
In page 35, subsection (1), line 9, after "the licence", to insert "or its last renewal under section 19".
The Minister of State may refer to amendment No. 39a and amendment No. 40 tabled by Deputy Smith and which I assume will be moved by Deputy Ó Cuív.
If I can clarify the issue I will not have to move the amendment. Amendment No. 40 appears to be covered under section 69.
If the Deputy wishes to move it the Minister of State can comment on it.
Deputy Molloy's amendment providing for the extension of the power to review licences after their renewal improves this section of the Bill. I accept the principle of his amendment but I propose that it should read "or its last renewal under section 19".
Amendment agreed to.
Amendment No. 39a not moved.
I move amendment No. 40:
In page 35, between lines 26 and 27, to insert the following subsection:
"(5) The Minister shall have discretion to cease a licence, if a project in respect of which the licence was granted has not commenced, or has been abandoned for two years.".
Will the Minister of State confirm that the provision set out in the amendment is included under section 69?
Yes. Section 69 provides that where a licence has been granted and the operation has not commenced within two years after the date in which it was granted the licence shall cease to have effect. The amendment proposes that the period of two years proposed for cessation of licences where development has not commenced does not allow for any discretion. This would undermine the objective of maximising the available foreshore resource to facilitate those who are willing to use sites. Discretion in this case would open the door and facilitate pressure on Ministers in the future. Two years is sufficient for people to commence their operation after getting their licence.
Is it possible to reapply for a licence?
If one does not take up a licence after two years it lapses and one would then have to apply again.
Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.
Section 70, as amended, agreed to.
NEW SECTION.
I move amendment No. 41:
In page 35, before section 71, to insert the following new section:
"71.—The Minister may grant a temporary emergency licence to allow movement of stock and equipment in the event of an emergency, such as an environmental disaster.".
I am not accepting this amendment. I am not convinced that an emergency licence provision on the lines suggested would be either practicable or feasible. Already there is provision for trial licences and I do not consider that it is reasonable to depart from the full licensing process which is geared towards protecting the legal rights of existing users of the foreshore. The amendment proposes the granting of a temporary emergency licence, which I do not agree with.
The purpose of the amendment is to ensure that, in the event of, for example, a weather catastrophe, temporary arrangements could be made for the holding of stock, especially stock held in cages, where there would be insufficient time to embark on the reapplication procedure.
In the case described by Deputy Ó Cuív, emergency measures would have to be taken in any event. However, the process regarding the granting of a licence would have to be followed otherwise the legitimate rights of other users of the foreshore might be transgressed. It is impossible to know if they are being transgressed until the process is set in motion and people have been given the opportunity to state whether their rights have been transgressed.
If a week's warning of a hurricane was issued and it was considered necessary to move cages in deeper waters to more sheltered waters to protect property, etc., what would be the position? Farms have been moved into deeper waters because of the threat of pollution, a move which we support. However, hurricane Debbie is still spoken about in the west, there are Oíche na Gaoithe Móra and other occasional huge storms, perhaps at 20 year intervals.
Much work has been done on testing the capability of cages for farms in the Atlantic Ocean. However, it would be a matter for the licence holders to ensure that their hardware is sufficient to weather the storm. A provision such as this would be open to abuse if, for example, a licence holder moved to the inner bay because of an alleged impending storm or catastrophe. The Bill provides for a system of licensed aquaculture.
Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.
Sections 71 and 72 agreed to.