Fisheries Protection

212. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment if a systematic assessment will be carried out to quantify the number of fish killed in the recent River Blackwater incident; the engagement which has taken place with local stakeholders including angling clubs, farming bodies and community organisations; and when the resulting data will be reported and to whom. [51…

182. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the way in which a multi-agency investigation confirmed the extent of the August 2025 fish kill in the Blackwater but failed to establish a source or cause; and if additional investigative steps such as independent hydrological analysis or technical assistance from the European Commission will now be undertaken. [50…

183. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment to provide details of Inland Fisheries Ireland’s quantified estimate of fish mortalities by species and life stage on the Blackwater in August 2025; the river reach affected by kilometre, the ecological risk assessment used; and the planned remediation and stock recovery measures with timelines and funding. [50900/2…

184. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment to explain his Department’s final position on the cause of the Blackwater fish kill, given public communications that evolved from possible disease to pollution; and to reconcile this with laboratory results published on 18 and 19 September 2025. [50907/25]

285. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if Inland Fisheries Ireland has assessed the impact of the August 2025 Blackwater fish kill on invertebrate populations, including caddisflies, and other macroinvertebrates used as water-quality indicators; and to publish results of any kick-sampling surveys conducted. [50874/25]

286. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if the National Parks and Wildlife Service has undertaken an ecological damage assessment on species of conservation concern within the Blackwater river (Cork/Waterford) SAC (002170), including otter, kingfisher, lamprey, atlantic salmon, and freshwater pearl mussel; and if he will provide the findings [50875/25]

287. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the legal obligations under Article 6 of the Habitats Directive triggered by the Blackwater incident; and whether a formal appropriate assessment has been initiated in response. [50876/25]

288. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the mitigation and recovery measures in place to support the recolonisation of protected species within the SAC; and the timelines and estimated costs. [50877/25]

289. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether funding will be allocated to long-term biodiversity monitoring programmes on the Blackwater, including aquatic plants, insect life, and riparian bird species; and the monitoring design of same. [50878/25]

123. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment his views on whether Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) should continue operating as a statutory body considering its reluctance to fully comply with the EU Habitats and Water Framework Directives by conserving invasive/non-native freshwater fish in Lough Corrib SAC; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5…

124. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment if his Department will continue to legislatively conserve and validate invasive non-native freshwater fish such as pike and roach in SACs within the confines of a Geopark (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50215/25]

125. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment if his Department will provide additional funding to Inland Fisheries Ireland to initiate a comprehensive rehabilitation plan for the Blackwater River after the catastrophic fish kill in August 2025 considering the river’s status as a SAC; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50216/25]

130. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment if consideration is being given to establishing a compensation scheme to assist anglers affected by the large scale fish kill in the River Blackwater in Mallow, County Cork; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50300/25]

131. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment to provide an update on the reports he has received regarding the reasons for the large scale fish kill in Mallow, County Cork; the engagement he has had with the agencies involved; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50301/25]

1813. Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to provide data on the number of inspections carried out by the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority since 2015, disaggregated by port, and the proportion of inspections resulting in sanctions or penalties, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47160/25]

2182. Deputy Pat the Cope Gallagher asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the potential for pollack quota (TAC) in ICES area 6a south for 2026; how this will benefit those that fish this stock by hook and line in areas such as Arranmore Island; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41699/25]

2183. Deputy Pat the Cope Gallagher asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the actual number of and extent of surveys that the Marine Institute carried out on sprat stocks for the period 2015 to date in 2025; the scale and extent of each of these surveys, indicating the bays surveyed, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41717/25]

120. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Question Nos. 319 of 1 May 2025 and 132 of 20 May 2025, given it is over a year since the closure of the public consultation on trawling within Ireland's six-nautical-mile limit, and given that trawling continues to take place in inshore waters, some of which are special areas of conserv…

310. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if his Department have engaged with the Marine Institute regarding a formal stock assessment of sprat and the introduction of a total allowable catch; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36042/25]

457. Deputy Maeve O'Connell asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to report on his Department’s work in collaboration with the Department of Defence in the protection of fisheries. [31657/25]

247. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment for an update on the work of the Minister of State with Responsibility for the Marine in light of reports of frightening decline in Atlantic fish stocks and the contribution of commercial fishing to this decline (details supplied). [30103/25]

109. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on the need to urgently review the relevant parts of Sea-Fisheries and Maritime Jurisdiction Act 2006 that cover the structure and operation of the Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority to ensure a harmonisation of regulation with the rest of the European Union (details supplied). [25830/25]

126. Deputy Joe Cooney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the outcome of the tuna CHART programme in 2024; the status of the socioeconomic survey from the authorised charter trips, and if there are plans within his Department to introduce a more widespread recreational catch and release bluefin tuna sport fishery. [25106/25]

736. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to provide the numbers of fishery officers employed by the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority (permanent and temporary contracts) for each of the years 2012 to 2025, in tabular form. [25595/25]

737. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine whether he and his officials deem the operation of the Cong Salmon Hatchery on Lough Corrib SAC in County Galway by Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI), is legally compliant with national and EU legislation considering that no Appropriate Assessment or Nature Impact Statement has been conducted on its activities; and if…