Inshore Fisheries
Dail Éireann — 2021-10-21
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Holly Cairns (SD), Cork South-West

I thank the Minister for the clarification and his ongoing work to protect our inshore waters. The reality is that within a few days, or even a day, of the recent court decision, I was receiving reports of large vessels operating by the coast, often within Bantry Bay in west Cork. It is a major concern for local professions and organisations. The issue has now been going back and forth for over a year. The uncertainty around the ban will probably continue for some time.
I ask the Minister to explain why the Department has not begun a new consultation process as a back-up if the eventual court ruling finds definitively against the directive, which we know is a possibility. Groups are rightly concerned that at the end of the legal proceedings the process might have to start all over again, with all that time lost. Why not have a fresh consultation as a redundancy, given that the policy directive was overturned in the first place because the consultation was not adequate?

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2021-10-21/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:49:44+00:00
Sitting date: 2021-10-21