Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Inland fisheries is the great untapped resource in the country. The Wild Atlantic Way has done a massive amount for the coast. There are a couple of things I wish to mention. Some of the Leader companies did a power of work on the life project in conjunction with the Department and the European Union. They did a pile of cleaning up of rivers and enhancing inland fisheries. The Department should take a more proactive role. Inland fisheries appears to be the last thing to be looked at. There is a huge amount of goodwill and massive potential for tourism in places which would not normally be known for their tourism industry.

I have met many of the anglers and the people who have benefited from the LIFE project on their stretches of rivers.

They say that a huge tranche of money that was not used was sent back to the European Union. It was never distributed through the Leader companies or even through the Department. Perhaps the Minister would comment on that. In the new tranche of funding that is due to come through from this year to 2020 or 2021 is there scope to move the LIFE project on in many of the inland fisheries and rivers that were untapped heretofore? Why was the money sent back in the first instance?