Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent)
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1210.To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the grid reference boundaries of Fintra Bay, County Donegal for aquaculture licensing purposes; and if he will make a statement on the matter.[33886/24]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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I understand the Deputy is referring to a particular licence application and further to PQ 55696/23, I wish to advise the Deputy that my Department considers applications for aquaculture licences in accordance with the provisions of the Fisheries (Amendment) Act 1997, the Foreshore Act 1933 (as amended) and applicable national and EU legislation. The licensing process involves consultation with a wide range of scientific and technical advisers as well as various Statutory Consultees. The legislation also provides for a period of public consultation.

As part of the public consultation process a notice is published by the applicant in a locally circulating newspaper. For most applications, the location details given on the public notice refer to the general location by stating the bay in which the application site is situated. As some bays cover a vast expanse of coastline, in an effort to guide the public to the closest point possible our GIS experts are tasked with mapping the coordinates of an application to the closest descriptor such as ‘Fintragh Bay’ within the confines of the much larger ‘Donegal Bay’.

The public notice also advises that a copy of the application form which contains the address of the site and all supporting documents including maps and drawings are available on the Department’s website and in the one or more local Garda Stations for consideration. The full suite of application documentation clearly shows the location and co-ordinates of the site along with the details of the proposed aquaculture.