By EchoLive.ie Rachel Lysaght
A group of up to 10 campaigners, who spearheaded a local petition opposing a controversial mussel farm which was approved for Kinsale Harbour earlier this summer, are due to visit the D谩il today.
The group, who are seeking to appeal the decision made by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine to grant the development, will be travelling from Cork to Dublin to make an official presentation outside the D谩il at 1pm.
The aim of the visit is to present representatives from the department with the petition, which has garnered more than 7,000 signatures, both online and in-person, to highlight the widespread opposition to the mussel farm.
The licence for the mussel farm, initially lodged in 2018 by Waterford-based company, Woodstown Bay Shellfish Ltd, was approved by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine at the end of May.
The development, which received 609 previous objections between 2019 and 2021, will see the commercial cultivation of mussels in Kinsale Harbour, using bottom culture on the sub-tidal foreshore, at an approximate 23-hectare site between the Dock Beach, James Fort, and Charles Fort.
The Aquaculture Licences Appeals Board (ALAB) have confirmed that they are 鈥渃urrently processing鈥 the number of up-to-date appeals which were lodged with the body during the most recent appeals window, which ran from May 31 to June 30.
Speaking to The Echo ahead of the D谩il visit, Kinsale resident Marc 脫 Riain, who was instrumental in setting up the petition, said that he hopes the presentation will show how 鈥渢he public interest is not reflected in this mussel farm鈥.
鈥淲e鈥檙e going up to the D谩il in the hopes of presenting the petition to Tim Dooley [Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine with special responsibility for Fisheries], or someone from his office,鈥 said Mr 脫 Riain.
鈥淲e have more than six and half thousand signatures online and 500 physical signatures too.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a limitation on how many people you can organise outside the D谩il without a Garda presence, so there鈥檒l be a small group of us going up.
鈥淭he hope is that we can make the minister realise that he has the power to overturn the licence if it鈥檚 not in the public interest,鈥 he added.
鈥淲e have a petition signed by in and around the total current population of Kinsale, so it鈥檚 clear that the public interest is not reflected in this mussel farm.
鈥淭he specific location of this development will impinge on so many things in the harbour 鈥 that鈥檚 why so many people are appealing.鈥
Woodstown Bay Shellfish Ltd were contacted for comment.