Charlie O'Connor (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)

It will have nine members, of whom three will be appointed by me, two by each of the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Deputy Ó Cuív, and the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Gormley and one by the staff. Three members will be recommended by the Oireachtas committee. I will endeavour to avoid appointing people to the board outside of the committee's recommendation. It is important that we acknowledge the formal involvement of the Oireachtas in these selections if we are to achieve a wide range of people. I do not intend bypassing the views and recommendations of Deputies in regard to suitable nominees.

Now is a good time for our inland fisheries resources. Clearly, however, we must look down the road for other issues which can help us achieve efficiency, particularly in respect of the complementary functions of the National Parks and Wildlife Service. I would like to see an arrangement which allows synergies to develop among both organisations so that they can work together in an operational sense.

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