The May 2015 report of the Joint Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht on Developing the Seaweed Industry in Ireland puts forward 8 recommendations for developing the industry.
However, I have no statutory role in the promotion or development of the seaweed industry. Under the Foreshore Act 1933, I am responsible for regulating only the harvesting of wild seaweed and the report does make a number of recommendations in this regard.
Any regulatory regime must seek to balance existing rights and commercial potential while ensuring sustainability of the resource and compliance with the State’s obligations under EU environmental law. In that regard, the interaction between the Foreshore Act 1933 and traditional rights to harvest seaweed that may exist in certain places is under consideration by my Department in the context of advice from the Office of the Attorney General.
Options for the future licensing of seaweed harvesting, including the relevant recommendations contained in the Oireachtas Committee’s report, are currently under review.
