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We agree to the petition being considered in public if the Committee on Petitions declares it admissible.

Save The Swilly comprises a wide range of concerned groups in the Lough Swilly area - anglers, tourism providers, commercial fishermen, concerned residents and others. Collectively, the members of Save The Swilly believe the licensing of fish farms - salmon and shellfish - on Lough Swilly is proceeding without adequate research or consultation, and with no overall plan.

• The petitioners call on the Irish Government, in the form of the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources, to declare a moratorium on all aquaculture licensing in Lough Swilly until a detailed, independent baseline study and an environmental impact assessment have been conducted.
  
  
• Save The Swilly has commissioned an independent scientific Scoping Study on Lough Swilly, which will assess the lough's current physical, biological and chemical status. The group has asked the Irish government to commission such a study itself, or to assist in the funding of a study. These requests have been ignored, and Save The Swilly has raised funds from the public to cover the cost of the Scoping Study. The Scoping Study commissioned by Save The Swilly is being conducted by the University of Ulster's School of Environmental Studies. It will be used as a precursor to a comprehensive study into a strategy for Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) for Lough Swilly.
  
  
• We believe the Irish government is failing in its duty to protect the marine resource and that it should stop licensing in Lough Swilly until the comprehensive ICZM study has been completed. A copy of this petition, with 8,400 signatures, was presented to the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources in March 2001, but there has been no response.
  
  
• This petition is part of a process by which Save The Swilly has gone to considerable lengths to inform the community about the issues. Communication measures included the circulation of 10,000 flyers to addresses in the Lough Swilly area; the creation of a web site, www.loughswilly.com and an extensive series of news releases. Signatures were received in writing or through our web site. The volumes of signatures attached include print-outs of submissions received by email and copies of the written petitions.
  
  
• Save The Swilly has also made every effort to explain its position to government bodies and to understand the policies of the Irish government and other statutory bodies consulted about aquaculture licensing in Ireland. Some of theses statutory consultees, including Bord Failte, the tourism authority, told us they do not have the resources to assess each aquaculture application in detail; one consultee, the Northern Regional Fisheries Board, does not support any further salmon-farming licences in Lough Swilly. The consultation process is flawed, and a comprehensive independent scientific study is needed as soon as possible to prevent further environmental damage through the aquaculture licensing process.
  
  
• A conflict of interest exists in the Department of the Marine and Natural Resources' role as the licensing authority and regulator of the aquaculture industry on the one hand, and as the principal advocate for the industry in Ireland on the other.
  
  
• Individual licence applications must meet the licensing criteria established under the Fisheries (Amendment) Act, 1997, but we do not believe adequate consideration has been given to the interests of other legitimate stakeholders, nor has adequate assessment been given to the impact on wild-fish stocks, on wildlife and bird habitats, on livelihoods of commercial fishermen and tourism providers.
  
  
• The Aquaculture Licences Appeals Board (ALAB) established as an independent arbitrator and as a de facto Court of Final Appeal in the licensing process, has rejected more than 98% of appeals against licences since its inception in 1997. Despite numerous requests to do so, ALAB has never granted an oral hearing.
  
  
• The petitioners want to know what the Irish government's overall plan is for Lough Swilly. Official statements from the Irish government state that the objective is to increase national aquaculture output by 300% by 2005. If the government does have a plan for Lough Swilly, all residents/stakeholders should be consulted on its objectives. If the government does not have a plan, all aquaculture licensing should be stopped until such a plan is developed. If we do not know where we are, how can we know where we are going?
  
  
• In reply to a question in the Dail the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources said: "I have no proposals to commission a study on the overall aquaculture potential of Lough Swilly."
  
  
• The petitioners are concerned that the Irish government is presenting its Coordinated Local Aquaculture Management Systems (CLAMS) as its mechanism for managing Lough Swilly.
  
  
• CLAMS has no legislative or statutory basis, and hence no accountability. It exists for the benefit of the aquaculture industry, and is not an independent or objective body. According to its own Explanatory Handbook, CLAMS will meet various parties "who may not be in favour of aquaculture developments…Though their comments will be heard, it is not going to be the policy to address all of their concerns in CLAMS. It must be stressed that one of the main purposes of CLAMS is to provide a framework for the development of the (aquaculture) industry and not a document that lists all objections to it."
  
  
• The petitioners are not opposed to the development of Lough Swilly, but we believe inadequate attention is being paid to the environmental costs associated with aquaculture. Refocusing development energies, and the considerable financial resources applied to aquaculture in Lough Swilly by the Irish government and by the European Union to areas such as marine tourism would, in our view, provide at least as many jobs as aquaculture.
  
  
• The European Union is failing in its responsibilities for monitoring the environment by providing extensive grant aid to aquaculture in Lough Swilly, while expressing grave concern about aquaculture licensing within Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) and Special Protected Areas (SPAs) in Lough Swilly.
  
  
• In April 2001, the European Commission issued a Letter of Formal Notice to Ireland under Article 256 of the EC Treaty stating that Ireland "has not respected its obligations under Directives 79/409/EEC on the conservation of wild birds ("the Birds Directive") and Directive 92/43/EEC on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild flora and fauna ("the Habitats Directive"). According to a senior EC official, "As regards aquaculture within those parts of Lough Swilly classified as an SPA, the relevant protection provisions are those of Article 6(2), (3) and (4) of the Habitats Directive. As at present informed, the Commission is of the view that Ireland is not respecting these, notably by reason of a failure to appropriately assess the individual and cumulative impact of aquaculture licence applications."
  
  
• The petitioners believe a detailed study of the current status of Lough Swilly would ensure that development mistakes are avoided. The Department of the Marine has acknowledged that mistakes were made in the development of aquaculture in nearby Mulroy Bay, County Donegal, but they refuse to specify what these were.