Press Releases

Archived Press Releases:

 May 12 ,2007
ELECTION 2007: How clean is Donegal’s water, and other pertinent political questions…?

 September 25 ,2006
OYSTER CRISIS EXPOSES "SHAMBLES" IN MANAGEMENT OF SWILLY

 July 11 ,2005
ATTEMPT TO DOUBLE SALMON-FARMING OUTPUT IN LOUGH SWILLY

 August 23 ,2004
WHICH PART OF "NO" DON'T THEY UNDERSTAND?

 June 02 ,2004
COULTER CALLS FOR POLITICAL CHANGE IN DONEGAL

 December 15 ,2003
PORTSALON SALMON-FARMING LICENCE REFUSED BY ALAB

 November 05 ,2003
PRESS RELEASE ISSUED BY FEDERATION OF IRISH SALMON AND SEA TROUT ANGLERS, FRIENDS OF CLEW BAY AND SAVE THE SWILLY

 September 24 ,2003
PRIME TIME EXPOSES AQUACULTURE'S SHORTCOMINGS

 July 24 ,2003
SAVE THE SWILLY CALLS FOR FARMED SALMON MORTALITY MONITOR

 July 21 ,2003
ANOTHER DISASTER IN INVER BAY - INQUIRY ESSENTIAL

 July 17 ,2003
"RURAL DEVELOPMENT TOWARDS SUSTAINABILITY"

 June 21 ,2003
ANOTHER DISASTER IN INVER BAY - INQUIRY ESSENTIAL

 February 08 ,2003
SAVE THE SWILLY MEETS INISHOWEN POLITICIANS

 February 03 ,2003
BLUE FLAG BEACH THREATENED BY 80-ACRE FISH FARM

 January 29 ,2003
SAVE THE SWILLY 10,000-SIGNATURE PETITION ACCEPTED BY EUROPE

 January 28 ,2003
NEW ALLIANCE FORMED IN SWILLY

 December 16 ,2002
"STOP RIPPING UP THE SWILLY" INDIGENOUS PEOPLE DEMAND

 December 13 ,2002
LOUGH SWILLY'S INDIGENOUS FISHERMEN SPEAK OUT

 October 01 ,2002
Press Releases Save The Swilly 1 October 2002 PUBLIC MEETING TO DISCUSS INTEGRATED COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT

 September 25 ,2002
SAVE THE SWILLY WELCOMES EU STRATEGY ON COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT

 August 12 ,2002
'Lough Swilly ICZM Report'

 August 02 ,2002
QUESTIONS OVER DECOMPOSING SALMON IN INVER BAY

 June 03 ,2002
NO ROOM FOR TRADITION IN LOUGH SWILLY

 May 03 ,2002
Save The Swilly opts for "Swilly First"

 May 03 ,2002
Save The Swilly/Green Party candidate withdraws

 May 01 ,2002
Save The Swilly/Green Party candidate to contest Donegal North-East

 April 18 ,2002
COULTER TO BE "AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE" FOR SAVE THE SWILLY

 March 25 ,2002
Save The Swilly presents 10,000-signature petition to EU

 March 12 ,2002
Study of Lough Swilly launched

 November 30 ,2001
STS letter to Hugh Byrne, Minister for State for the Department of the Marine

 November 27 ,2001
ICZM AND OSPAR - NOT CLAMS - FOR SWILLY

 October 17 ,2001
SALMON FARM WANTS STILL MORE LICENCES INSHORE

 September 17 ,2001
SAVE THE SWILLY MEETS LABOUR PARTY

 September 13 ,2001
SAVE THE SWILLY MEETS MINISTER OF STATE BYRNE

 September 01 ,2001
SAVE THE SWILLY BEGINS FUNDRAISING DRIVE

 August 28 ,2001
SAVE THE SWILLY WELCOMES I.F.A. INITIATIVE

 May 15 ,2001
EXPANSION OF SALMON FARMING TRAGIC FOR SWILLY

 April 09 ,2001
MUSSEL BARRELS ADRIFT IN LOUGH SWILLY

 March 22 ,2001
SAVE THE SWILLY PRESENTS PETITION

 March 13 ,2001
SAVE THE SWILLY QUESTIONS MINISTER BYRNE

 March 11 ,2001
SAVE THE SWILLY REAFFIRMS CALL FOR MORATORIUM

 February 20 ,2001
LAUNCH OF SAVE THE SWILLY WEBSITE

 January 24 ,2001
An open letter to the people on the shores of Lough Swilly:

 January 16 ,2001
Delegation meets Minister Hugh Byrne

 January 09 ,2001
Save The Swilly (from looking like Mulroy Bay)

SAVE THE SWILLY - December 15 ,2003

PORTSALON SALMON-FARMING LICENCE REFUSED BY ALAB

The Aquaculture Licences Appeals Board (ALAB) has upheld the appeals of six members of Save The Swilly (STS) against the decision to grant a salmon-farming licence at Dooanmore, near Portsalon, County Donegal.

The thrust of the six appeals was that the proposed site was an inappropriate location for salmon farming. The appeals body said in its determination that it had treated all six appeals against the Portsalon licence as one. The Board accepted the appellants' arguments that the proposed 90-acre operation would have a negative impact on the surrounding environment. ALAB, which made the decision on the Lough Swilly appeal on 8th December 2003, gave the following reasons:

1. "It is considered that the deterioration in water quality arising from the proposed activity would have a negative impact on the recreational use of the adjacent Portsalon Blue Flag Beach.
2. "It is considered that the proposed activity constitutes an unacceptable risk to navigation.

"It is considered that the location of the proposed activity would give rise to injury to visual amenity in an area visible from a designated scenic and tourist route and within the views and prospects of special amenity as designated in the Donegal County Development Plan 2000."

Mr Tony Morrison, chairman of Save The Swilly, said the decision vindicated the position STS had taken since its inception. "We have consistently argued that there are many stakeholders in Lough Swilly, and that there are options for development that do not intrude on the rights of other users. We believe many jobs can be created through a systematic Integrated Coastal Zone Management strategy."

Mr Morrison quoted a statement from the Committee on Petitions at the European Parliament, which has declared Save The Swilly's 10,000-signature petition admissible. The statement says: "The Commission welcomes the findings of the ICZM Scoping Study [commissioned by Save The Swilly]. It appears that a fuller coastal zone management exercise would be useful for the Lough Swilly area and should be considered a priority by the Irish authorities in their implementation of Recommendation 2002/413/EEC."

The six appellants were Buncrana Anglers Association, Lough Swilly Preservation Group, An Taisce NW Donegal, Mr BJ Eastwood, Mr Dermot Brown and Mr John Mulcahy. Mr Morrison said the appellants in this case reflected a wide cross-section of interests in Lough Swilly. He called on the Donegal County Council to accept the need for an Integrated Coastal Zone Management strategy for Lough Swilly. "The initial work has already been done by the Coastal Studies Research Group at the University of Ulster in Coleraine, and now we need some action," Mr Morrison concluded.

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