Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the way in which Ireland’s circular economy policy and legislation apply to the harvesting of seaweed as a finite biological resource, rather than a manufactured input; whether the circular economy framework recognises the importance of natural regeneration capacity, harvesting cycles, and ecological carrying capacity for seaweed species commonly harvested in Ireland; whether any national guidance, limits, or sustainability thresholds exist in respect of regeneration rates, harvesting intensity, or recovery periods for seaweed beds; and if not, whether he considers such limits necessary to distinguish genuinely circular use from extractive activity; whether circular economy policy requires that proposals for large-scale seaweed harvesting take account of regeneration cycles traditionally measured over multiple years, cumulative impacts, and the long-term ability of the resource to replenish itself; the way in which these principles are being applied, in practice, to the assessment of large-volume harvesting proposals, including foreshore licence application FS006108, which proposes harvesting at a scale of up to 40,000 tonnes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13721/26]