As the Deputy is aware, procedures in respect of the making of submissions to the Aquaculture Licences Appeals Board are set out in the 1997 Fisheries (Amendment) Act. In the context of the Oral Hearing referred to by the Deputy, no requests were received by the Marine Institute from the Aquaculture Licences Appeals Board in respect of disease outbreaks on aquaculture sites in the area and accordingly no submission was made to the Board in that regard. It should also be noted that the Marine Institute was not a party to the appeal in question.
My Department has five distinct Marine Divisions. These are the Sea Fisheries Administration Division, Sea Fisheries Policy & Management Division, Marine Programmes Division, Marine Engineering Division and the Aquaculture and Foreshore Management Division. The Marine Agencies Governance Unit, located within the Sea Fisheries Policy & Management Division of my Department, is responsible for corporate governance oversight of the Marine Institute, Bord Iascaigh Mhara, Sea Fisheries Protection Authority and the independent Aquaculture Licences Appeals Board. The oversight role of the Department in this respect is to ensure that each of the marine agencies is and remains compliant with the revised Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies (2016).
