Frank Feighan (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister to the House and voice my support for the motion. Any measure that ensures we take the marine sector seriously is very welcome. For too long, fishing communities, businesses in the angling sector and seafarers have relied on the waters around Ireland. Much has been done in that context but a lot more can be done.

On the promotion of fish and the marketing of processed fish product, coming from Boyle in Roscommon, the home of Donegal Catch, I know that value can be added to a very good product. Donegal Catch is now exported to countries across the Continent and the company has provided badly-needed jobs in Boyle, north Roscommon, Gurteen, in south Sligo, and Donegal, as the Minister will be aware. That strategy should be supported because it will benefit the fish industry.

As a restaurateur I was always taken aback by the fact that salmon was less expensive than whitefish. We have underestimated the value of whitefish over the years. We did not market cod and other whitefish as well as we should have done over the years.

We should have a Minister for the marine. The Taoiseach was hard-pressed to include the marine in the Department of Communications and Natural Resources. Natural resources are a major element of this island country. We have a fishing box but within that box there are very considerable resources, including aquaculture, oil, gas and minerals. We must realise also that there are other resources not yet tapped.

I am concerned about inland waterways. We talk about tourism and the anglers who come here from Britain. Three years ago I made the point in the House, in connection with inland waterways, that fishing here was not the same as in the past, although the suggestion appeared to be dismissed at the time. Fishermen who used to come here from England are now going to Denmark and Holland. It is obvious that the fish stocks are not available and despite assurances from the various Departments, the Central Fisheries Board, the inland fisheries or whatever, fishermen will say that the fish stocks in the lakes and rivers of the Shannon system are not the same as they were previously. That has resulted in a major downturn in the tourism business. If anything arises from this motion tonight, there must be an independent report on those fish stocks. There is now a negative aspect to the tourism industry and inland fishing and despite what we have been told, that is quite obvious. The English fishermen who came here and who taught us how to conserve and approach the tourism industry have turned their backs on us and are now going to Denmark, Holland and further afield. That problem needs to be addressed by the Department.