I propose to take Questions Nos. 421 and 422 together.
In his speech at the Harnessing Our Ocean Wealth Summit in 2018, the then Minister with responsibility for the 1933 Foreshore Act, Minister Damien English T.D. clarified that certain rights, of both a formal and informal nature, to harvest seaweed exist and must be respected in the context of determination of applications to hand harvest seaweed under the 1933 Foreshore Act. This position is unchanged.
The legal registration of such informal rights, such as those that might be held by traditional seaweed harvesters, is a matter for the Property Registration Authority of Ireland (PRAI) and those wishing to register their rights should engage directly with them. Accordingly, my Department has no role in that process.
On the question of licensing, my Department is continuing to engage with applicants who have applied to hand harvest seaweed under the Foreshore Act. I have no plans to extend the remit of Foreshore Act to make it mandatory for those who are currently not required to be licensed to be so mandated in order to harvest seaweed. In terms of the unauthorised harvesting of seaweed, my Department continues to investigate any such reports, which are brought to our attention.