Vol. 483 No. 5
88 Mr. O'Shea asked the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources if he has had the objections of the East Waterford Lobster Co-operative Society Limited examined regarding a dredging operation off the Waterford coast; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20847/97]
All dredging of gravel from State owned foreshore requires the prior consent of the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources under the foreshore Acts. A foreshore licence was granted to Bilberry Shipping and Stevedores Ltd. , on 4 November to carry out a pilot survey of up to 200 tonnes of seabed material from an area south of Waterford Harbour. Put in context, 200 tonnes would be the equivalent of ten truck loads of material. The survey, which lasted less than half a day, took place on 10 November last. Officials from the Department and the Marine Institute were on board the dredger to monitor the survey. They were empowered to halt the survey in the event of damage or injury to the marine environment.
The application for the licence was subject to thorough examination in the Department, which also consulted the Marine Institute. The application was published in local and national newspapers in July 1993. No objection to the proposed survey of aggregate was received from East Waterford Lobster Co-Op Society Ltd.
The co-op society wrote to the Department on 18 November 1996 expressing its concerns about the survey. The Department replied in detail on 6 December 1996, and no response was received from the co-op until 13 November last, some three days after the pilot survey was completed. The site surveyed is not a recognised area for harvesting lobsters, and an initial post survey report indicates that the survey itself did not generate any deleterious effects which could be damaging to any other fish breeding grounds.
