David Norris (Independent)

I have a fairly good idea. Nothing justifies the slaughter of the seals, the way it was done against the law in Kerry. It is easy for the Minister to blame the seals for his inadequacy and finger a poor unfortunate dumb animal instead of doing what all the scientists state he should do. Over the period from 1970 to 2003, for example, the salmon catch has dropped to less than one quarter of its previous levels. That should set alarm bells ringing in even the dullest of minds and I am not suggesting for one second that the sharp person from Donegal has a dull mind. If there are some dull minds around, they need to be awoken.

The clear scientific indications are that in 59% of our rivers no salmon should be taken by any means whatever. That is what the scientists are saying. A further 27% should have severe reductions applied. This is what we are being told and this is where we need action.

If one looks at the question of growing salmon, many of the rivers that have a potential to produce juvenile salmon are on the south-east and east coasts. Here is a situation where they put drift nets right across the mouths of the rivers — it has been described to me as like having a drift net across the factory gates. The Minister of State is stopping production by allowing this method, which should be stopped.