Pat Lee
Ceist:10 Dr. Lee asked the Minister for the Marine the terms of reference and membership of the working group on freshwater fish farming which he announced recently; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Ceisteanna-Questions. Oral Answers. - Fish Farming.
Mary Flaherty
Ceist:43 Miss Flaherty asked the Minister for the Marine the terms of reference and membership of the working group on freshwater fish farming which he announced recently; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
(Limerick West): I propose to take Questions Nos. 10 and 43 together.
The remit of the working group will be to consider the environmental impact of freshwater aquaculture installations (the bulk of which produce smolts for the farmed salmon industry). The group will consider its detailed terms of reference, currently being drafted, at its first meeting shortly.
The group will comprise representatives of my own Department, the Departments of the Environment and Health and Energy together with representatives of the ESB and the aquaculture industry.
I regard this as an important initiative which should enable the debate on freshwater aquaculture to be moved forward in a balanced way, grounded in objective assessment of the impact of existing freshwater operations.
In addition to this initiative I expect to receive shortly the report of the working group on mandatory codes of practice for finfish aquaculture, which I established last year and which is addressing those aspects of fish husbandry which have a direct bearing on the environment. My Department is also formulating a systematic inspection programme for the industry using all available resources to ensure that existing standards and any new codes of practice adopted are fully observed.
The Deputies are no doubt aware that under the terms of the relevant EC Directive, recently given statutory effect by my colleague the Minister for the Environment, prospective freshwater aquaculture operators must submit environmental impact statements to the relevant local authority when applying for planning permission. This requirement in itself should serve to assure concerned parties that all likely environmental impacts of such operations are fully taken into account.
Will the Minister put on the record the exact terms of reference given to the working party?
(Limerick West): As the Deputy knows, the Government decided that this group should be representative of my Department, the Departments of the Environment, Health and Energy, the ESB, other freshwater salmon producers and BIM. As I have said, they are to examine all the environmental aspects of the industry and I hope they will be reporting to me very shortly, as the Deputy will know it is an industry which needs to be promoted positively but it also has to be properly structured. That would include the main terms of reference of the group.
The Minister has not answered my question. I am very anxious to get the exact details of the terms of reference of the group. I wonder if in fact the committee were thrown together without any detailed specifications in relation to the terms of reference and that in fact it was a reaction to the ongoing situation that arose between Dublin Corporation and the Departments of the Environment and Energy and the subsequent head-on clash between the Minister for Energy and the Minister for the Environment as an effort to cool the troubled waters? I think the group was put together to soften the cough of everybody and cloud up the situation and therefore I would like to get the exact details of the terms of reference. We know that they deal with the environmental impact of fish farming and rightly so. However, I am seeking that more details of the terms of reference be put on the record of the House.
(Limerick West): The committee will review policy generally in relation to fresh water installations having regard to public concern about risks to health.
The Minister is not answering my question.
(Limerick West): I have answered it twice for the Deputy.
No, Minister. The Minister referred to the environmental impact statements.
If I may, I will pursue the point raised by Deputy Taylor-Quinn in regard to the terms of reference? Do I understand correctly from the Minister's reply that the working group will consider the detailed terms of reference at its first meeting and that those terms of reference have not yet been concluded and drafted?
The Deputy may possibly have hit the nail on the head.
Will the Minister clarify that the Department of the Environment — I may have missed it in the reply — is represented on the group? In relation to the Minister's statement on environmental impact studies will he clarify that it is intended that all applications will be required to submit an environmental impact study?
(Limerick West): The reply to the last part of the Deputy's question is “yes”. Every application will be treated on its merits and no application, irrespective of where it comes from, will take precedence over any other application. As I have explained and have repeated and will now say for the third time, the committee will review policy generally in relation to fresh water installations having regard to public concern about risk to health.
Have the terms of reference been put together yet, which is what Deputy Gilmore asked?