ALAB, the Aquaculture License Appeals Board, pride themselves in their website as making appeals decisions withing three months. So, having sat since 2018, suddenly in spring 2025 Irish citizens were cynically given barely two months notice (until 30June/2025) to appeal Minister Martin Hayden's (Fine Gael party) surprise descision to grant permission for a mussel farm in the middle of a bathing, snorkelling and sailing area at the heart of Irelands coastal tourist jewel of Kinsale and literally a stones throw from the golden sands of the Dock Beach.

       What followed was an avalanche of appeals against the the planned farm to ALAB (the Aquaculture License Appeals Board), not only from the vast majority of Kinsale townspeople and those from surrounding areas, but from all over the country by those who love the natural beauty of the area. 

        Such was the landslide of objections that ALAB uniquely proposed to treat the large number of objections as 1 objection as, they claimed, they were all saying the same thing. I'm paraphrasing, but that essentially is how they initially treated objectors.

         

        My Appeal, one of many to the Aquacultural License Appeals Board is included HERE.

 

 

       This is reminiscent of the state-giveaway scandal of the Corrib Gas Field or the cultural vandalism of their Motorway through historic Tara. Now, against the wishes of the vast majority of people of Kinsale and the wider areas, Martin Hayden - the Fine Gael minister for Agriculture, Food and Marine - has allowed permission for a mussel farm, (farmed by dredgers!!), in the middle of the most beautiful location of world-renowned Kinsale Harbour. Yes, the beautiful area between the famous and historic forts of  Charles Fort and James Fort, beside the beautiful, golden-sanded renowned DOCK BEACH.

 

 

 

        Many great local (and other) people have worked for years to make Kinsale the renowned Irish tourist gem it is. It is bewildering that for 5 part-time jobs (i.e. a few weeks a year), the past efforts of so many is to be undone, currrent full-time shrimp fishermen to be be displaced, Ireland's historic port is to become silted up (or continually and expensively dredged to maintain current depths). 

      A beautiful, unsppoiled beach is to soiled by broken shellfish and the pungent smells of dead mussels. The safe and open training ground for young sailors, kayakers, wind-surfers and local rowing clubs is to be taken from them and, of course, the beautiful harbour vista that makes Kinsale famous is to be spoiled by the blot of this mussel farm.

      Kinsale has already given enough to Shellfish farming with Oyster/mussel farm about 1 mile upriver so the plan ignores the government's own biodiversity principles, not to mention the destruction of protected sea-grasses in the area.  

 

      Enough is enough. Stop the Greed and Save the Town, Save local jobs, Save our Environment! 

 

 

LINKS:

https://www.echolive.ie/corknews/arid-41795747.html     - CORK DIVING CLUB FINDS SEAGRASS BEDS IN KINSALE MUSSEL FARM PLOT 

https://www.echolive.ie/corknews/arid-41728329.html     - A YEAR LONG DELAY IN CORK MUSSEL FARM DECISION