M J Nolan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this Bill. It was published in November and it was hoped then that it would be enacted before the end of 2009. Unfortunately, that did not happen but we are now towards the latter stages of agreeing this legislation.

The Minister in the budget spoke about the rationalisation of State agencies and this Bill will rationalise the Central Fisheries Board and the seven regional fisheries boards. There are many good, dedicated people involved in these fisheries boards. It is a pity that so many of them will lose their positions but I accept the principle behind the rationalisation and hope the individuals who were members of the boards will find a forum in which they can offer their expertise and experience.

My contacts with anglers lead me to believe there is no one as passionate as fishermen. They love their hobby and are genuinely dedicated to fostering it, particularly in inland fisheries. They tell us that the best policemen for the rivers are the fishermen themselves and that is the case. Their pastime is based on the retention of a healthy stock of fish and if the fish are not in the rivers, their pastime will be affected. It is in their interests that legislation enacted by this House is successful.

Recent problems with the diminishing stock of salmon and the role taken by the Department to ensure stocks were not depleted to extinction is evidenced by reports recently of increased salmon stocks. In some rivers, such as the Slaney in my constituency, different rules were set down for salmon fisheries. In the Barrow, salmon fishing was banned completely, while catch and return was allowed on other rivers. That is to be welcomed. Genuine anglers accepted the implementation of that recommendation. It is unfortunate that so many of these dedicated individuals who served on the fisheries boards will no longer have this forum in which to offer their expertise.

In the budget speech, the Minister spoke of rationalising the numbers of State bodies. As part of this process, the new inland fisheries authority will be established and this new authority will be in place in the near future. An interim chief executive was appointed by the Minister of State in August and has taken up his role. He is an experienced executive who brings a lot to the table and he will be in charge of an organisation with a budget of €30 million.

Some of the areas he must look at include river quality. This new organisation must work with organisations such as Waterways Ireland and the OPW. The quality of our rivers has improved over the years because more stringent regulations have been put in place for planning permissions regarding effluent. That has led to improvements that allow for vibrant fish life.

The greatest threat to fish life in the past 20 years comes from off-shore netting, of salmon in particular. Canada has successfully overcome that problem by buying out many of the net owners. I have raised the issue in the House previously and we should not lose sight of it.

Fishing and angling are a source of revenue to Irish tourism. The various tourism organisations acknowledge the role and input of fishing. It must also be acknowledged that it is an indigenous sport for local fishermen.

I refer briefly to the appointment of the board. The Ministers for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources and the Environment, Heritage and Local Government make appointments and one board member will be elected by the board's staff following the standard procedure. The Committee on Communications, Energy and Natural Resources will have the right to recommend to the Minister the appointment of three nominees. This is a new departure in terms of appointments to State boards and the Minister is to be commended for introducing it. It was first developed in respect of appointees to the RTE board and the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, in which respect an Oireachtas sub-committee had an input.

This process is over and done with, the recommendations are with the Government and we are awaiting appointments. Two weeks ago, the committee met to evaluate the process used in making its recommendations. It has made other recommendations based on our experience and, I hope, fine tuned the process to ensure that the best quality people are recommended to be appointed as board members.

I wish this legislation a successful passage through the House. The Bill updates the penalties applicable to certain offences under its remit. In this regard, I do not understand why legislation is not index-linked with the cost of living. In this way, primary legislation would not be necessary to make a change. Instead, penalties would be reviewed annually.

The Committee on Communications, Energy and Natural Resources examined the situation in the Loughs Agency, a joint venture between the Northern Ireland fishery authorities and the authorities in County Donegal. We could all learn from what it is doing. Conservation methods on both sides of the Border are working successfully and could be applied in other areas.

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