James Bannon (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)

I am glad the Acting Chairman thinks so. I have been aware for some time of the importance of a Bill such as this to establish inland fisheries Ireland to replace the Central Fisheries Board and seven regional fisheries boards. However, it was only when in anticipation of this debate I telephoned two regional offices in the midlands to speak to an office dealing with the issue of inland fisheries and failed to connect with any office or body to help in my inquiry that alarm bells rang.

I am hopeful that a centralised system will lead to improved organisational and communications outcomes but I am conscious of the element of cutbacks involved in this decision. It is all about cutbacks and I am glad to hear Deputy Browne saying that he has some reservations about the Bill. As a representative of Longford-Westmeath in the proposed River Shannon basin district, which relies on recreational fishing for its tourism industry, such cost saving could be to the detriment of inland fisheries. This is a serious concern which has been brought to my attention and which I am sure has been brought to the Minister of State's notice by various people involved in the industry and recreation.

Freshwater lakes cover approximately 144,480 hectares of the area of the country, along with 13,840 km of main channel rivers. These are inhabited by a number of fish, including games species such as salmon, sea trout, brown trout and coarse species such as roach, pike and bream. In my constituency, covering Longford and Westmeath, there are major concerns over fish stocks, which much be appeased. Over the past three to four years our roach have been threatened by a British species of coarse fish called chub. The Minister of State is very much aware of the concern of fishermen over this species as I put down an Adjournment matter in the Dáil and before that in the Seanad. These fish have put our angling and coarse fishing industry at risk.

Chub have been discovered in large quantities in the River Inny and have the potential to cause very serious damage to our angling industry by attacking native trout and bream. They must be eradicated. However, it is imperative that this be handled in a competent way as electrification of the Inny when the roach are spawning would further endanger fish stocks. The issue must be addressed as we do not want to threaten other species when getting the chub fish out of the waterways.

Salmon runs on the Inny have also been affected as the fish are unable to make their way along the river due to various impediments such as structures utilised by the ESB, etc. That should also be addressed. Serious questions relating to angling tourism caused by this and other problems with fish stocks in the midlands need to be asked and answered by a competent body which will not pass the buck from one office to another. There is a fear that it will come down to "us and them" rather than having everybody working together in the interest of developing angling tourism and the activity in general.

I welcome the reopening of sections of the Royal Canal last year, which will boost midlands tourism significantly. The canal is now navigable from Dublin to my own backyard in Abbeyshrule and further to Ballymahon and Keenagh. I hope it will go to Killashee, Clondra and continue to have some link with the River Shannon. That would open the waterways to a great extent.

Local fishermen, the tourism angling industry and hoteliers have been concerned with the failure of the fisheries board to stock the waterways with tench and bream. At a time of a major fall-off in tourism figures, with hotels closing as they are failing to maintain viable numbers, this fall in fish stock is deterring British anglers, who were the mainstay of the industry. From talking to members of angling clubs, they notice that numbers have been down by several percentage points last year on previous years. I am sure the downturn in the economy has affected this.

The recent flooding is also having a huge impact on fish stocks in the River Shannon. The fisheries board, local environmentalists and fishermen have been trying to restore wild salmon to the river, but the flooding has set back their plans. Extra funding must come on stream to restock our rivers. According to a local member of the board, it is becoming a nearly impossible task to restore salmon to the River Shannon. The small supply of trout in the Shannon is also expected to diminish as a result of the flooding. This was brought home to me at public meetings with various tourism interest groups, hoteliers and so on. According to the wild salmon and sea trout statistics report for 2008, the total number of salmon caught and released in this period was 11,977, a decrease of 1,023 on the previous year.

There is a serious problem with access to our waterways. Many of our waterways are in private ownership and they often go through farmers' lands. I was the chairperson of the Inny Anglers Development Association for many years. We did great work over the years and we got wonderful co-operation from local landowners and farmers alike, and from the fisheries board. We erected a great number of sealed footbridges over small tributaries of the River Inny. This served to improve access for people using the waterways.

A problem arose a few years ago with the REPS scheme, where farmers were forced to erect electric fences in close proximity to the rivers, such as the River Inny, the River Suck and others. This issue was highlighted several times by the IFA. There needs to be greater co-operation between the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, local fishing clubs and farmers. I know of cases where people touched electric fences, got angry and snipped the fences, and as a result, a REPS inspector would call out and penalise the farmer, who might lose up to 15% of his REPS payments as a result. Common sense should prevail and there should be a little bit more co-operation in that area. It is not the farmer's fault, as it was probably an angling tourist that caused the problem, yet the farmer still has to pay the price. That creates bad feelings between land owners and those who use the waterways, so there should be greater co-operation in that area.

The issue of mooring areas for boats needs to be addressed. A number of small farmers in my area made an application to the relevant local authorities for mooring rings for fewer than ten boats, but they were refused. Local authority officials gave them the impression that they would facilitate the mooring rings, but national bodies such An Taisce came in and objected to mooring rings. This problem is very relevant in south Longford along the Shannon. A good friend of mine spent over €20,000 trying to acquire planning permission, but his hopes were dashed when planning was refused for a mooring area. I think that is wrong.

Looking at the old Ordinance Survey maps of 1913, it is notable that boathouses were a feature of several townlands, especially in the midlands. These were a part of our heritage, but they were taken away following the drainage scheme of the 1960s. Boathouses in the Boyne catchment area were destroyed and never replaced. We should look at protecting our heritage and I do not see anything wrong with replacing an old feature with an up to date version. This adds to the character of the river.

The marketing of our waterways needs to be addressed. Local knowledge is very important for the production of quality brochures. Nobody knows better about an area than those who lived there all their lifetime. They can tell us the good stretches of water that contain perch, roach or salmon. Several generations of people would know about the Red Bridge at Ballymahon, Abbeyshrule, or the Lock at Tennalick, Kinnard and so on, and the particular species of fish for which each location is noted. It is important that we get local knowledge when we are compiling any brochure, rather than outsourcing it to a company that would be bland in its description of an area.

The restocking of rivers is very important. It is important to involve local angling groups in this because they are the guardians of our waterways and they have a sense of pride and loyalty to a stretch of river. There should be grants available for the construction of weirs in the tributaries to our main waterways.

I was looking at old photographs that were taken prior to 1960 and there were lovely scenes along the rivers where huge groups of people congregated at the river bank on a Sunday afternoon. They provided their own entertainment with their own sport, and I have never seen such a gathering in my lifetime along the River Inny. It is something that should be examined to develop that unique culture in rural areas.

Deputy Browne spoke about being a member of a club and not getting much time to fish. I am also a member, but since I entered politics, I have unfortunately been too busy to go off for an afternoon. A politician seems to work 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and there is very little time to get involved like we used to do before we entered politics.

It is important that we open up our rivers to tourism and this new Bill will hopefully help in that respect. Insurance is a major issue, and a scheme should be examined whereby the State could assist people with land adjoining rivers, because premiums rise for such people. As a landowner and a farmer I know this because I have a front onto the River Inny for a few miles. I must mention this for my insurance policy and I am sure a few bob is added to the insurance premium every year for that reason.

The canals will be a major benefit and a tourism asset for our country. It is important that we maintain and manage our canals and have them restocked. We should also examine other activities along the banks of the canal where the horses used to move in bygone days. Perhaps walking tracks or other leisure activity facilities could be developed in order to encourage more people to get involved. We should use the banks of rivers. There are walking routes around Kerry and Connemara. A leisure walking route from Dublin to the Shannon should be developed. Funding should be provided for such a development. Our canals run through scenic parts of the country and through free land. It is important that they are developed.

It is important to keep in contact with local anglers and local groups. Local angling clubs should not be shut out. We should work with them in co-operation. We would like to see less bureaucracy from the new boards. I hope the Minister of State will do what he can to ensure bureaucracy is kept out of the new inland fisheries board. Local knowledge will promote our fishing industry and local people are the best promoters of our waterways. I have some reservations but we need change and I hope this change will be for the better. Much money needs to be invested in the development of Ireland's angling industry.

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