Brendan Griffin
Question:195. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if licences will be renewed for persons (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20765/14]
View answerThursday, 8 May 2014
Questions (195)
Written answers
The applications referred to by the Deputy are in respect of sites located within Kenmare Bay which is designated as a Special Area of Conservation under the EU Habitats Directive (Natura 2000 site). An Appropriate Assessment has to be carried out before any aquaculture licensing determination may be made in respect of aquaculture applications for sites in the bay.
The European Court of Justice declared in case C418/04 that, by failing to take all the measures necessary to comply with Article 6(3) of Directive 92/43 (Habitats Directive) in respect of authorisation of aquaculture programmes, Ireland had failed to fulfil its obligations under that Directive. In the negotiations to address the judgment a process was agreed with the European Commission which would lead to full compliance by Ireland with the relevant EU Directives. This process includes the following steps:
- a detailed data collection in 91 Bays/Estuaries
- detailed analysis of raw data collected
- setting of Conservation Objectives by the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) in respect of each site
- carrying out Appropriate Assessments of each licence application/fishery plan against the detailed Conservation Objectives set, and
- determination of Licences/Fisheries on the basis of the Appropriate Assessment and other relevant factors.
The carrying out of detailed surveys of marine habitats and species has been completed. Appropriate Assessments have been completed in respect of Castlemaine Harbour, Dundalk Bay, Roaringwater Bay, Lough Swilly, Donegal Bay, and Dungarvan Harbour and Appropriate Assessments are ongoing in other ‘Natura’ areas including Kenmare Bay. This process has begun to achieve meaningful results. In 2013, I made a total of 137 licence determinations, of which approximately 120 were in respect of sites in ‘Natura’ areas (i.e. Roaringwater Bay and Castlemaine). I expect to be in a position to make in excess of 200 determinations in 2014.
Addressing the issue of aquaculture licensing in Natura 2000 areas is a key priority for my Department and you can be assured that every effort is being made to expedite the determination of these aquaculture licence applications having regard to all the complexities involved.