Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)

It is important to state that even though I have responsibility for commercial fishing in my Department, different Departments are in charge of different things. Consequently, a lot of angling is the responsibility of the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources. That said, this must be a Government response and it does not matter who specifically is in charge of it. There is huge potential for angling tourism in Ireland and in the south east in particular centred on the bass stock there. In this context, the Government should be working through the tourism bodies, as well as the coastal and fishing communities, to try to exploit this to the full. Ireland has an extraordinary marine resource, as well as a coastal resource comprising 7,500 km of coastline, much of which is rich in angling potential and a lot more can be done to build that industry. If the person who has made contact with the Deputy wishes to contact me, I will happily try to put him into contact with someone who may be able to help.

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