A High Court judge has quashed an order by the Minister for Agriculture in which he had revoked the licence of a fish farm in Bantry in West Cork.

Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney is on another collision course with residents of Bantry after he approved a fish farming licence for a company seeking to cultivate native seaweed in the West Cork bay.

After months of questioning, Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney has confirmed that up to 230,000 farmed fish escaped from their cages into Bantry Bay during February’s storms.

Up to 14,000 people could be in danger of being cut off if gale force winds and flooding were to damage the only bridge leading into a town in Co Cork.