PRESS RELEASE 23 SEPTEMBER 2024

SAVE BALLYNESS BAY SAC ACTION GROUP

In Spring 2019, the local community in Cloughaneely was shocked to learn that the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine had designated Ballyness Bay, a Special Area of Conservation, as a location for industrial aquaculture. The reaction of the community was to overwhelmingly oppose this as an attack on its environmental heritage and especially on a highly treasured amenity enjoyed by both local people and tourists.

An Action Group was formed to make every effort possible to protect the Bay. This involved intensive interaction with the Minister and the Department, analysis of national and EU environmental legislation, critical scrutiny of and comment on reports issuing from the Department, meetings with political representatives at local and national level, and an awareness campaign at community level and in the local and national media. Widespread support came from within the community and far beyond.

In November 2019 the Minister announced the granting of 14 of the aquaculture licences in accordance with his earlier stated intentions. The SBB Group immediately set about preparing an appeal to the Aquaculture Licences Appeals Board (ALAB). Intensive effort meant that this technically detailed and complex document was presented to ALAB on 30 December 2019, to meet the very tight deadline set by the Board. The Covid lockdowns in 2020 meant that public activities by the Group were curtailed, but work continued in the background.

On 22 May 2024, ALAB announced it’s confirmation of the Minister’s decision, with some minor amendments, in respect of 12 of the licences granted, covering just over 20 hectares (49 acres) of the Bay. The only means of challenging this decision by ALAB is legally, by way of a Judicial Review in the High Court. Having considered the matter carefully, and following legal advice, the Group has decided that it has an obligation to the community, in accordance with its original mandate, to pursue this cause as far as is possible.

The Group has therefore initiated the process of a Judicial Review in the High Court. Since the issue is now subject to Court proceedings, we will be making no further comment on the matter until the Court has issued it’s judgment.

From the outset of the campaign, members of the local community and the wider support base have made financial contributions to the cause. All such funds have been carefully managed and accounted for and have been applied solely in support of the actions outlined above, and all the work carried out by the Group has been done on a purely voluntary, unpaid basis.

There are some funds still in the account, but Court proceedings are costly. Taking this action on behalf of the community requires the support of the community as well as others keen to protect the integrity of our Bay. We hope our supporters will help us to meet these costs by contributing to the Save Ballyness Bay fund we have set up on the iDonate.ie platform. You can do this by visiting the iDonate website, or via the links on the Save Ballyness Bay website and Facebook page.

In the happy event that we win the case and are awarded our costs, some of the legal fees incurred could be refunded. While it would be impractical to refund every single donation, we could refund larger donations of €50 and above. Any remaining money would be donated to local charities and the accounts published on our Facebook page and website.

Please Find Underneath Various Publications Relating To Ballyness Bay

June 2024 Update

The campaign to save Ballyness Bay from industrial Oyster and Clam farms began in 2019. The local community group Save Ballyness Bay (SBB) and people from far and wide who knew and appreciated the beauty of the bay and the asset that it was to all, were horrified at the Department of Agriculture and the Marine in reality selling off the bay over their heads to private commercial interests. The process of appeal against these licences is very much skewed against the community. The Dept’s approach is to push through these licences regardless of a mass of convincing scientific and environmental evidence and the wishes of the local community. To further stymie any opposition the Dept. has limited the opportunity for the community to appeal, to their taking a judicial review. The recent Aquaculture Licences Appeal Boards (ALAB) decision to grant 12 of the licences in Ballyness Bay and refuse only two has shocked the community. The two refused were the Tullyfish one at Ballyness Pier, from the pier across the face of the bay to the sand dune at Back Strand. The other was a small plot, over on the Dooey side of the bay. To help explain to supporters the extent of the licences granted, we have produced 2 maps. The map marked 2019 shows all the sites where licences were being applied for then. The map marked 2024 show the sites that had licences granted to them in June 2024. The SBB committee had lodged an extensive and detailed appeal with ALAB to oppose any aquaculture in Ballyness Bay, based on concerns for users of the bay, wildlife, the local economy, EU wildlife regulation infringements, scenic despoilment etc, etc, most of which, the ALAB Board chose to disregard. These concerns are all listed in the “Technical Report ” with which ALAB supported their decision. Having listed them, they then dismissed their relevance. The only items that were considered important enough were those of visual impact and the danger to seals. All our other environmental concerns and the Natura 2000 EU Wildlife Directives it seems are irrelevant. The committee are actively working their way through a mass of documentation to determine their next action. They have not gone away. Please keep up your support.

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You can download the publication by clicking the Download link situated at the bottom left hand corner of the page. To view details of applications for licences for shellfish production in Ballyness Bay, Click Here and then scroll down to the Ballyness Bay section.