Sale of State seaweed company ‘shrouded in secrecy’

Sale of State seaweed company ‘shrouded in secrecy’


Áine Ryan

THE sale, without community consultation, of the State’s seaweed company, Arramara Teoranta to Canadian company, Acadian Seaplants, is ‘the first step in the privatization of seaweed and other natural resources found along the seashore’. That is the view of Sinn Féin Cllr Rose Conway-Walsh who, like former Fianna FΡil Minister for the Gaeltacht, Éamon Ó Cuív, has raised serious concerns about the move, which Independent European Parliament election candidate, Marian Harkin, has argued is ‘shrouded in secrecy’.
Erris-based, Conway-Walsh said: “The sale of this public asset jeopardises the harvesting rights of seaweed cutters and those who have used seaweed along the Mayo coast for generations. In spite of protestations from the Government that there was no intention to sell-off the state-owned Arramara it is now clear that I and my colleagues,  Senator Trevor Ó Clochartaigh and EU Candidate Matt Carthy were correct in relaying information to constituents that background discussions were taking place to push the sale through without consultation.”
Last month she led a public meeting in Belmullet about the, then, rumoured sale during which people raised fears regarding the dangers of a private company monopolising prices. She has now confirmed that Erris Seaweed Action Group ‘will continue to work with the Connemara Action Group and other communities to provide a strong cohesive voice to protect the rights of seaweed cutters and coastal communities’.
Cllr Conway-Walsh  has urged coastal landowners to ‘check their land folios to establish their harvesting rights’ and to work cooperatively to ensure ‘the rights to cut seaweed and benefits arising from processing this natural resource are held by communities using a fair trade co-operative model’.
The sale of the company, which was finalised by ÚdarΡs na Gaeltachta in early May, has led to a chorus of calls, by European Parliament and local election candidates, for transparency and clarification about the position and rights of seaweed harvesters. Independent MEP Marian Harkin last week urged harvesters to form a ‘unified entity’ to protect their interests. She also called on the Government to clarify if Arcadian Seaplants had been awarded ‘exclusive’ harvesting rights.  
The Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht said it understood that the sale will ‘not in any way affect any rights that harvesters have to harvest seaweed’ and that the company would continue to purchase from local harvesters as it had done for the past 60 years.
Shortly before the sale, however, Arramara Teo applied for foreshore rights ‘having hitherto relied on the licensing rights of several hundred traditional harvesters during its 67-year history’, according to The Irish Times.
A former head of Arramara, Mr Tony Barrett, confirmed he believes ‘the sale was contingent on this application being made’. Mr Barrett questioned why the sale was never put out to tender while ÚdarΡs’s Chief Executive, SeΡn Ó CúlΡin, said the sale would safeguard the future of the company. Established in 1947, Arramara Teo was in majority State ownership (82 per cent) until 2006, when ÚdarΡs took over 100 per cent of its shares.