Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 18 January 2024
267. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine how many finfish aquaculture licences which were up for renewal have been passed through the statutory process and have been renewed by him in the past five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2157/24]
View answerApplications for aquaculture licences are considered by my Department in accordance with the provisions of the Fisheries (Amendment) Act, 1997 the 1933 Foreshore Act, as amended and applicable national and EU legislation. The licensing process is complex and involves consultation with a wide range of scientific and technical advisers, as well as various Statutory Consultees. The legislation also provides for a period of public consultation. In addition, applications for marine finfish licences, with some very limited exceptions, must be accompanied by an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) or Environmental Impact Report (EIAR). The requirement for an EIS/EIAR is set out in legislation and relevant applications cannot be considered in its absence.
My Department's records indicate that a determination has been made in respect of one application for a renewal of a marine finfish aquaculture licence during the period referenced by the Deputy and priority work is ongoing to address the outstanding marine finfish renewal applications.
As part of this process a formal request for the submission of outstanding EIS/EIARs issued to all operators in December 2018 and specified the deadline for submission of the necessary documentation to be 30 September 2019.This deadline was subsequently extended to 30 June 2021. While all applicants submitted EIS/EIARs in advance of this deadline, a number of the Reports submitted required further review and updates, and work is ongoing with the applicants concerned in order to progress these applications. The applicants concerned have recently been advised that all outstanding information in respect of these applications must be submitted by 9 February 2024.
Once the necessary documents/information are received and the required technical and scientific reviews are completed, these applications will be subjected to both Public and Statutory Consultation in accordance with the relevant legislation.
As these applications are currently under consideration as part of Statutory process it would not be appropriate to comment further on specific applications at this time.
