Pros and cons of fish farming

The debate on the proposal to establish fish farming in Bantry Bay and Galway Bay continues.

Two State agencies, An Bord Iascaigh Mhara and Inland Fisheries Ireland, are contradictory on the merits of the scheme. The adjudication is hampered because there is no dedicated minister for fisheries.

In previous administrations, the assignment was controlled by the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, assisted by a junior minister with exclusive responsibility for fisheries. This is now conducted as a subsidiary of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, a demanding tripartite portfolio.