Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail)

Long may it continue because he is theatre at its best and we really could learn a great deal from him in that regard. If I had my hat on, I would take it off to him.

Answering his argument, which was eliciting the comments and reactions from this side of the House, is like trying to separate the wheat from the chaff; I will leave that to the Minister of State to do in his own forensic and efficient way, which I hope the Senator will stay to hear.

I wish to repeat much of what has been stated already on salmon being a national asset. I approach this from a more rural perspective in that I come from a part of Ireland in the north west where for decades there has been under-capitalisation and under-investment in adequate onshore facilities to encourage a greater number of anglers to come here. The Minister of State, coming from County Donegal, is aware of the importance of angling tourism. He made the point repeatedly in his speech and he does not need to be told by advisers, by a commission or by anybody else of the importance of angling tourism, particularly in my part of the country but not exclusively so. I share his view on buyouts and whether it makes economic sense to spend an estimated €25 million, which I understand from third parties would be the cost, or is more effective to invest that money in angling tourism across the country. In the Leitrim lakeland district we have an abundance of lakes and fish but have traditionally had a problem of access and insufficient and inadequate onshore facilities for our visiting and resident anglers. I am pleased that in recent years, under the watch of the Minister of State, Deputy Gallagher, there has been an increase in funding in this regard, channelled through the various regional boards.

Local angling interests have expressed concern to me at possible moves towards the abolition or centralisation of the fisheries boards. That would not be a positive step. It would be a disadvantage, particularly to those of us living in Leitrim and those in the peripheral regions, primarily the west of Ireland, where there is a large lakeland environment. The Shannon Regional Fisheries Board and the Northern Regional Fisheries Board which each look after one half of County Leitrim have been doing a very good job. Will the Minister of State inform us whether there are plans or suggestions in the pipeline for centralisation of these boards? I am convinced the regional boards are a good idea. The Shannon Regional Fisheries Board has been circulating correspondence to its constituent members asking them to fight against this proposal.

I agree with much of what has been said, despite the points made by Senator Norris. We accept this is a controversial issue. A group of parliamentarians from the Faroe Islands who made a submission to the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs a few weeks ago said that their islands had never had a history of drift net fishing. They could not quite understand how we still had it here. Unlike many other Ministers who must acquaint themselves with the nuances and detail of their brief, the Minister of State comes from a fishing background and environment. He has made it clear, and I share his view, that any alignment of salmon stocks should be done on scientific advice. I am pleased he has requested the National Salmon Commission to examine the scientific dimension to this controversy and to report back to him by 2007. Some 359,002 wild salmon returned to our waters in 2004, including 191,579 spawners. Therefore, there is an abundance of salmon returning to Irish rivers.

I agree with the point made with regard to the dividing line between the importance of fishing for commercial purposes and the importance of angling tourism. I am prejudiced in this regard and come down in favour of angling tourism and those who participate in it, not only because of the value to the local economy but to the national economy also. The Minister is right when he says the trend across Europe is towards a reduction in angling. I am not sure why this is so. In the past decade people made repeated representations to me about the pollution levels on the upper River Shannon. Some photographs were sent to me showing the white foam appearing on the water in good traditional fishing areas around Rooskey and farther north. As a result of Government policy on this in recent years, the problem has dissipated. I pay tribute to people in the agricultural sector who have taken on their responsibility in this regard. However, the problem has not been totally eliminated and I suggest it is a contributory factor to the reduction in fish stocks available for angling tourism.

There has certainly been a reduction in the number of angling tourists to my part of the world and the upper Shannon region. I am sure the Minister of State is aware of the problems in the angling tourism sector. Not only does the problem affect the Exchequer, it also has an adverse impact on the bed and breakfast places where anglers traditionally stayed. With the increase in the number of hotels, as a result of tax incentives introduced by the Government over the past ten years, there is now a reduction in the number of visitors using bed and breakfast establishments.

A couple from England recently stated in a letter how much they enjoyed their time in Ireland and criticised those who referred to it as a rip-off country. The couple in question were pensioners and pointed out that in Ireland we do not pay council tax, we have free travel for the elderly and have cheaper hotels than in the United Kingdom. The writer wanted to know why people here were whingeing and whining about the country. I found the letter refreshing coming from people who had travelled around Ireland on holiday for the first time in approximately 15 years. The writer was not, therefore comparing with recent years.

The abolition of salmon drift net fishing is not the sole question. There are wider issues at both a macro and micro economic level. Real hardship is being experienced by people in the tourism sector. I hope the Minister of State will be guided by the scientific advice, but also by the needs of the people in his part of the country. I appreciate that he must look after the national interest, but as a Minister of State, a Deputy and a former MEP he has first-hand knowledge of the needs of the tourism and fishery sectors in the north west and the west. I wish him well in his deliberations. I applaud him for consulting with those in the scientific community and on the setting up of the National Salmon Commission. He has also taken note of many of the recommendations in the report. These actions will hopefully feed intothis debate and resolve the problem once and for all.