Conor Lenihan (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)

I thank all Deputies for their contributions to this debate; they were very welcome. With regard to Deputy Deenihan's point, it is important to point out that the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organisation and the European Union have jointly sponsored significant research on why the salmon survival rate in the seas beyond our immediate shores is so low. Deputy Deenihan is quite right that there was an expectation that the ending of drift netting would lead to a revival of some type in fish stock numbers, particularly in salmon, but this has not occurred. Wider issues exist beyond our immediate control that will need to be addressed and examined very carefully.

In the Bill we are trying to harmonise, as Deputy McHugh pointed out, the standards that apply, particularly with regard to management of the country's river and water resources. It is very important. We have come through a period when fragmentation was the order of the day.

We are now moving to standardised and higher forms of protection for the country's water resources, precisely for the reasons alluded to by Deputy Deenihan. We want to develop and exploit this resource and the water quality associated with it in order to increase tourism revenue. Unfortunately, the present state of our water quality prevents us from making the best use of the resource during this terrible recession.

Deputy McHugh raised a key point regarding the importance of local clubs and the ethos of subsidiarity. His timely warning about the monster of the HSE has been of concern to me since I took over this brief in May 2009. We need to be exceedingly careful when we create new centralised bodies that we do not repeat the mistakes made in the early days of the HSE. People were cynical about the HSE at its inception because they believed it was in effect a centralised body without local or regional roots and that a group of people in Dublin were dictating to managers up and down the country. Although the truth of that perception is a matter for debate, I am determined to avoid creating a disembodied organisation which operates at a centralised level while ignoring signals and expertise in the regional and local structures. I have instructed the chief executive designate to enter into regular consultations with advisory councils at a local level. The people previously known as chief executives and who will now become regional managers will link into local communities and nurture the networks that have been developed among anglers and the other parties involved in managing and protecting this resource. They will not be allowed to ignore the traditional interests in our water resources, which must be integral to any solution.

I have also instructed the chief executive to conduct his executive management meetings in a way that moves the operation around the country and involves local communities. Regional managers will be integral members of the management team of the new body. They are not subsidiary to the officials who are in charge of core functions. I also want to ensure that regional managers are tasked with national responsibilities so that they act in an integrated fashion as part of a seamless transition to this new body, which will be both local and national in character.

Deputy Tom Hayes made the case for the River Suir as one of the great rivers. The recovery of salmon stocks on that river has been attributed to the closure of the sea fishery and improvements in water quality. It is to be celebrated that angling will be allowed this year on a catch and release basis. The Deputy was passionate in expressing his hope that the Clonmel office will not be closed. There is no question of closing offices at this stage. My colleagues, the Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Calleary, and Deputy Flynn, were very determined in making the case for keeping the Ballina office open.

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