Liz McManus (Wicklow, Labour)

I wish to share time with Deputy Martin Ferris, with the agreement of the House.

This motion is seeking yet again to postpone the elections to regional fishery boards across the country. It is worth pointing out that this is the third such postponement that has been sought. We had Deputies Gallagher and Brown in the role of Minister of State with responsibility for this area and now the Minister with this responsibility is Deputy Ryan. They all demanded interference in the democratic process. A electorate should be entitled to renew and refresh its representatives. However, although the Minister or Minister of State with responsibility for this area may change, the desire to postpone decisions seems to continue. It is important to recall that on the last occasion a postponement was sought the Minister, Deputy Ryan, was in opposition and he strenuously resisted it. If any attempt is made to postpone the elections yet again it will be met with fierce opposition from this side of the House.

We will call a vote on this because we do not think it is the way to go. Last year, when the Minister was in Opposition he called the postponement a "shocking indictment of the Government's inability to prioritise the environment and wild fish stocks." He called it "a cowardly act". He certainly has become rather meek since he entered the Department and he cannot remember the context and why he made these serious claims in Opposition.

I appreciate he is new to the job and anybody new to a job as important as this is entitled to some grace. However, we must remember the protection of indigenous fish species and habitats as part of natural heritage is the sole responsibility of the State. It is enshrined in the EU Water Framework Directive and in the EU Habitats Directive that fish stocks be maintained. It behoves the Government to take a proactive role. I recognise considerable improvements have been made in recent years. However, I express my reservations about another postponement.

At the committee debate the Minister stated that he wanted time to meet the chairpersons of the regional fisheries boards and the central fisheries board and he met them last Friday. It is not clear from his speech what progress was made. He spoke about establishing sub-committees. We need hard evidence in terms of making progress because as the Minister pointed out, relatively speaking this involves a limited time. If he believes in consensus building, and he puts a great deal of emphasis on this, he must also deal with those outside of the existing structures.

I briefly examined the Farrell Grant Sparks report which made major points of criticism. One was about the multiplicity of existing agencies. Agencies including the Department, the Marine Institute, local authorities and the EPA have a role in regulation. Seven agencies are involved in enforcement and nine agencies have roles in what is termed "monitoring and advisory service". The report expresses concern in this regard "not in relation to the role of the State. Instead the concern is with the multiplicity of agencies and the inevitable inefficiency in resource utilisation and otherwise which arises.".

In whatever new structures emerge, and I presume they will not be on the Farrell Grant Sparks model, it is important that the system is not complicated any more than it is already. The lack of a clear Government policy on inland fisheries does not help and this is a lacuna which needs to be addressed. The report examines in detail the need for policy.

The report establishes certain key functions for such a policy including the development, promulgation and communication of national policy and plans for the inland fisheries sector; the establishment of an institutional framework for the sector appropriate to the effective implementation of policy including service delivery, the drawing up of legislation, securing of and the allocation of funding and providing the framework for sectoral regulation and enforcement. This is a major task but if it were completed it would serve the country well.

I recognise the existence of great goodwill and dedication among the angling community to preserve stocks and enhance the fishing environment. Other speakers also mentioned this. Increases in the salmon conservation fund are welcome as are proposals with regards to regulations and by-laws. Anglers have expressed concerns to me with regard to funding. What is provided at present will not satisfy this need. Another concern is whether at times access to waters will be restricted to tourists only in order to make money.

The Trout Angling Federation of Ireland made recommendations for new structures which deserve consideration. I presume the Minister is aware of them. The federation makes a point of which I was not aware. It suggests that what is required is that future regions be realigned with the Water Framework Directive river basin districts. This seems a straightforward requirement and one I urge the Minister to take on board.

The issue of accountability was raised by other Deputies. We must ensure we have a system and statutory powers so that it can be made answerable. Nobody in this House wants to emulate the HSE model. The Trout Angling Federation of Ireland also argues for smaller boards in line with the Minister's thinking. We will call a vote on this. We will not win it but we want to make the point that interfering in this way in people's democratic mandate is not acceptable.

Giving the Minister a year's grace will have to yield results. He stated the Department is preparing a consolidation Bill. A consolidation Bill is all very well but it only deals with what exists already. I hope and expect the Government to go way beyond what is essentially a tidying up operation. Clearly, we need a policy framework and appropriate streamlined structures and these are key.

The Minister is asking us to postpone democratic elections and it is extremely important to have a quid pro quo of value resulting from what he proposes. We must wait and see and I assure the Minister the Labour Party will play a role in encouraging the emergence of a clear policy framework and robust and accountable structures to ensure the best future for the inland fisheries sector.

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