Martin Ferris (Kerry North-West Limerick, Sinn Fein)
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90. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the progress that has been made in the inspection of the 56 ocean bays awaiting approval in the context of the issuing fish farming licences; when he envisages that the surveys of these bays will be completed.. [6320/14]

Martin Ferris (Kerry North-West Limerick, Sinn Fein)
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When will the surveys relating to the 56 ocean bays that are awaiting approval in the context of the issuing of fish farming licences be completed?

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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In 2007 the European Court of Justice, ECJ - in case C418/04 - declared that by failing to take all measures necessary to comply with Article 6.3 of the EU habitats directive in respect of the authorisation of aquaculture programmes, Ireland had failed to fulfil its obligations under the directive. As most aquaculture activity takes place in Natura 2000 areas, it is necessary to undertake appropriate assessments of the effects of aquaculture activity on these areas before any new licences can be issued or any existing licences can be renewed.

In the negotiations to address the ECJ judgment, a process was agreed with the European Commission. This process includes the following steps: data collection in respect of 91 bays or estuaries; detailed analysis of the raw data collected; the setting of conservation objectives by the National Parks and Wildlife Service in respect of each site; the carrying out appropriate assessments - by the Marine Institute - of aquaculture or fishery activities against the detailed conservation objectives set; and determination of licences or fisheries on the basis of the appropriate assessments and other relevant factors. The carrying out of detailed surveys of marine habitats and species has been completed. Conservation objectives have now been set for over 60 bays. Appropriate assessments have been completed in respect of Castlemaine Harbour, Dundalk Bay, Roaringwater Bay, Lough Swilly and Donegal Bay. This process has begun to achieve meaningful results. In 2013, I made a total of 137 licence determinations, of which approximately 120 were in respect of sites in Natura areas. I expect to be in a position to make in excess of 200 determinations in 2014. The appropriate assessment process represents a significant financial, administrative and scientific investment by the State. The issue of resources is kept under continuous review having regard to the importance my Department attaches to this issue.

In other words, we are moving as fast as we can by moving through the bays, one by one. We are trying to arrive at a position where we can provide licences to everyone who is eligible to be appropriately licensed. This is a priority for my Department. The current situation is not acceptable where people have out of date licences requiring renewal. We are putting systems in place to deal with licensing efficiently and effectively. More important, a significant number of people want to invest in developing this sector, including setting up new aquaculture farms.

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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Thank you, Minister. I must call Deputy Ferris now.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Those people need and deserve efficient treatment by the State.

Martin Ferris (Kerry North-West Limerick, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister for his reply. I find it difficult to comprehend the delay in the renewal of out-of-date licences. This delay is having an effect on the potential for job creation The Minister says he is doing the best he can and I do not dispute it. However, the Minister should know that there is a lot of concern about the delay which is quite frustrating, to put it mildly.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I share that frustration. Unfortunately, we are now making policy decisions that should have been made many years ago under previous Governments. The approach to aquaculture licensing was not fit for purpose. The Commission has called us to account and we have to put in place a gold-plated system to the satisfaction of the Commission; otherwise, the consequences for the industry would be very difficult. Licensing is a priority issue for my Department and for the Marine Institute and BIM. Robust and detailed assessments of all aquaculture licences are required so that we only allow aquaculture to develop in areas where it is appropriate. This is an important consideration as the strong environmental lobby will hold us to account if we do not do that job properly. Deputy Ó Cuív will know this well as he has raised concerns about issues in this area on many occasions. My job as Minister is to gather the scientific evidence in order to determine the licences. We are working overtime to assess the bays, to carry out the necessary environmental impact assessments and the detailed environmental assessment of any application.

I can report progress. Two years ago I considered approximately 114 applications. I considered 137 last year and this year the number will be more than 200. When one considers the record of my predecessor in this area and the number of applications that were even considered, it will be evident that we are making significant progress.

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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I will allow brief contributions from Deputies Mick Wallace and Clare Daly as we are out of time on this question.

Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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We understand the necessity to carry out the appropriate assessments and that the Minister wants to put a gold-plated system in place. However, given that some people are waiting since 2010 for these assessments, is it the case that there is a shortage of manpower to deal with the problem? No one is saying that the regulations should be by-passed or that things should be done in anything less than a completely professional way, but I question whether the delay is due to a shortage of people to carry out the assessments.

Clare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party)
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I ask the Minister to deal with the damage to aquaculture operations as a result of the recent storms, not least the reports of the escape of 60,000 to 80,000 salmon from the Bantry Bay operation and what has been described as a potential ecological disaster. I believe BIM issued a statement today saying that there is no evidence that these fish escaped but 60,000 to 80,000 fish have disappeared from this area. As required under the licensing regulations, what reports has the Minister received of this very serious development?

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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If the Deputy is saying that BIM has no evidence to suggest there was any escape of salmon-----

Clare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party)
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BIM said it could not be confirmed.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy told me BIM said there was no evidence to suggest there was any escapage of salmon but then she told me with certainty that 60,000 escaped. Those two things do not tally. I do not have any report of salmon escaping. I specifically asked whether there were any problems with the Clare Island site because it is in deep water. It is not quite in open water, because it has the shelter of a number of islands, but it is certainly a very large site. I was told there were no problems at all during the stormy weather. I am asking questions in this regard but I have not had any reports of significant, or any, escapage in Bantry Bay or anywhere else. However, I will follow up on it now that the Deputy has raised it.

The issue of grant aid for aquaculture is a problem. Given what I have just outlined, we do not have sanction to spend EU money on the development of aquaculture projects which do not have up-to-date licences in areas which are SACs, Natura 2000 areas, and that is a problem and a frustration which is making it impossible for us to give grant aid to a sector which I am sure would like to benefit from that. We are working through those issues. When those projects are fully licensed under the new system, then we will be able to do that and I look forward to being in a position to do so.