The European Commission has given the Government just over two weeks to respond to its failure to designate coastal bays and estuaries as being suitable for shellfish production.
The Government has until April 17th to explain why it has allowed water quality to deteriorate around the coast as a result of its inaction. Only 14 bays have been designated under the Quality of Shellfish Water Regulations, so requiring anti-pollution infrastructure to protect the marine environment.
There are some 58 bays around the 2,700-mile coastline where shellfish are cultivated, according to the Irish Shellfish Association. It appealed to the EU about the Government's failure to protect those waters adequately. The association complaint was lodged last year in response to the State's downgrading of the majority of bays from class "A" waters to class "B". This downgrading was in turn a result of increasing pollution from urban centres and poor sewerage maintenance, the ISA says.
The EU has now upheld the ISA complaint that the Government failed in its statutory duty to implement the 1979 Protection of Shellfish Waters Directive. This requires every member-state to designate each shellfish production area in its jurisdiction as protected, and to draw up and implement water quality management and protection plans to enhance water quality to class "A" equivalent standards.
By failing to protect and designate the environment, the Government effectively multiplied the cost of production for shellfish farmers, the ISA said, and failed to recognise the growth of an industry which employs 1,500 in peripheral areas and is worth €30 million annually.
Ireland has not been the only EU member-state to ignore the directive, mainly because of the cost factors in providing the necessary anti-pollution infrastructure and the small size of the shellfish industry.
Instead, states have relied on a 1991 Shellfish Hygiene Directive to monitor and classify bays on the basis of similar quality standards to the 1979 directive. Under the 1991 directive, the only action required is to downgrade the status of bays, automatically barring local shellfish producers from many markets.
However, when British shellfish producers took action against their government, it resulted in a £50 million (sterling) bill to upgrade water treatment plants.
Ms Mary Ferns, chairwoman of the ISA, has welcomed the speed with which the European Commission has responded. "We feel that in finally having the Protection of Shellfish Waters Directive fully in force in Ireland we will not just be protecting our industry and our customers, but also protecting the environment in which we work for all citizens," she said.
"Once a bay is designated it will have to be examined for every source of sewage pollution and remedial action must be taken - excessive cost cannot be cited as an issue. It will also help local authorities in planning their waste-control policies and in dealing with new developments around the coast to ensure that they can proceed in a manner which will not adversely affect the environment.The shellfish industry wants to work in partnership with the State on this," Ms Ferns added.
The Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources says that a steering group has been set up, comprising officials from the Department, Bord Iascaigh Mhara and the Marine Institute to handle designation of additional areas. It said it was not possible to indicate how many additional areas were involved at this stage.