Mr. Denis Maher:

Before I make the opening statement, I note that Ms Suzanne Campion will make a PowerPoint presentation. We are grateful to have the opportunity to address the sub-committee on the important topic of angling tourism with particular reference to sea angling.

Sea angling is a component of the mix of economic pursuits that make up inshore water-based activities. The mix in the inshore area requires State, commercial and recreational users to contribute to a delicate balance between sometimes complementary but often competing interests. The angling sector is estimated to contribute in excess of €500 million annually to the national economy and to underpin employment and income earning for around 10,000 people, mostly in peripheral and rural communities and particularly along the western seaboard. Sea angling, which is the particular focus of the sub-committee, attracts almost 100,000 participants and generates income of approximately €100 million which is spent almost entirely in the communities in which the activity is based. We make our presentation to assist the sub-committee in its consideration of the tourism angling sector and to show where sea angling fits into that area. It is timely to address the sub-committee as Inland Fisheries Ireland is about to publish a comprehensive study of the national angling product and of the requirements and expectations of the customer, both domestic and overseas. The study is currently being finalised.

The study asked anglers, both domestic and international, what their expectations were and its results will offer a strategic guide to build on development plans for the sector to underpin employment and income in the angling sector and in the related hospitality and transport areas. I stress again that the income generated from angling is spent almost entirely within local communities, which concentration on local earning and spending is almost unique in the inshore sector. Our presentations will outline some of the most revealing results of the study and provide the sub-committee with a sense of the value and development potential of the sector while emphasising the importance of recreational sea angling to continued viable income generation in coastal communities.

Inland Fisheries Ireland, a statutory, independent agency under the aegis of the Department of Communications Energy and Natural Resources, is responsible for the conservation, protection and development of the inland fisheries resource and recreational sea angling. It has also a remit to promote the inland fisheries and sea angling resource. IFI has national responsibilities under the EU habitats directive, the water framework directive and eel regulations. IFI is mindful that the inshore area is vital to coastal communities, and exploitation of this sensitive resource requires a balance among sustainable developments across all sectors, underpinned by a cohesive approach among stakeholders. It also requires a balance with the State's international obligations on the environment, conservation, biodiversity and natural resource management. IFI is active in offering inputs to support and advise on development proposals which might impact areas in which we have expertise. The key objective is to facilitate sectors to develop in a manner that protects as far as possible finite resources and ensures that developments benefit to the greatest extent possible the local communities in which they are based.

IFI's development strategy for angling and sea angling in particular is based around keeping visitors returning to Ireland because the quality of the fishing and the support services are second to none. We must continually reinforce the message that Ireland is an angling paradise, that the infrastructure and information are available to provide for a wonderful angling holiday experience and that there is a real welcome for anglers and the euro they bring. IFI has an agreed angling marketing strategy with Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland. It also works on an all-island basis with Northern Ireland's Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure and the Loughs Agency to market Irish angling internationally. IFI supports its industry and trade partners to produce information, attend trade shows, market directly to customers and develop the angling product. IFI's business development section is resourced to deliver on IFI's aim to increase the number of anglers and increase the return from angling and inland fisheries to Ireland.

Stable development and balanced exploitation is the cornerstone of IFI's resource management strategy. The ongoing collaboration between IFI and its partners can ensure Ireland develops sustainably as a top-class angling destination. The development of sea angling and angling tourism in general requires a modern legislative base. The Minister of State at the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy Fergus O'Dowd, who has responsibility for the inland fisheries resource, has advanced a project to modernise and simplify the entire inland fisheries legislative code. This project will serve the sector well into the future. The review of legislation will go to public consultation in the near future. A key overriding objective of the legislative project is to put in place a statutory basis for IFI to develop the potential of the sector by increasing the number of anglers utilising the resource, empowering stakeholders to take an active role in its development and to maximise the returns from inland fisheries to local communities and the State.