Seaweed Harvesting
Seanad Éireann — 2026-03-18
============================================================

Timmy Dooley (FF), Clare

I thank the Senator. As he has rightly identified, I am precluded from discussing or engaging with the functions that are the sole preserve of MARA. Having met with representatives such as the Senator and others, I am acutely aware of their concerns and particularly of those of the traditional harvesters, both those who have reference on their folios and those who do not but have a track record in the area. I am also very concerned about the issues that were rightly identified in those engagements.
I would like to reassure those who I met and engaged with and who hold traditional rights to harvest seaweed that those rights will be protected - that is fundamentally important to me - regardless of how or where they are documented. I have asked officials in our Department to examine the regulatory framework that is currently in place to ensure it is appropriate to adequately safeguard holders of traditional seaweed harvesting rights. I have asked for this work to be commenced immediately. It is my intention as the Minister of State to ensure clarity and certainty are brought to the matter. I would be pleased to keep the House updated as that work continues.
As the Senator will appreciate, the system as it is currently understood is not meeting the needs and expectations of those he refers to. I am very anxious that we address that issue. From what I have seen, the traditional harvesters have a minimal to low impact on the stock of seaweed that is there. We must protect and preserve the rights of those people to the greatest extent possible.

---

Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted.

Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-03-18/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:44+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-03-18