Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 4 November 2015
252. Deputy Gabrielle McFadden asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the location where the two tonnes of Asian clam extracted by Inland Fisheries Ireland at Lanesborough in County Longford were stored; how they were disposed of; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38688/15]
View answerFollowing a trial dredge at Lanesborough carried out by Waterways Ireland with assistance from Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI), some 2.5 tonnes of material was removed from the trial site and IFI offered to store the material at its site in Roscommon.
The issue of disposal of material stored following the trial dredge, and of material from any substantive intervention, would have to be considered on a multi-agency basis and also be subject to advice from, and agreement with, the Environmental Protection Agency.
I am advised that neither my Department nor IFI have a statutory remit in the area of invasive species and that it would appear that this remit rests with the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS). It is clear that a multi-agency response to the substantive issue is required, with the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), as the body with a statutory remit, in the lead. I have agreed with the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, who has responsibility for NPWS, to continue working collaboratively on this issue.
