Brendan Daly (Fianna Fail)

Will the Leader arrange for the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources to outline for us his proposals on salmon conservation and the salmon angling business? At this stage decisions are being made on the curtailment of angling activity, in particular in a number of catchments where there are no real data on salmon stocks going back four or five years.

I am particularly interested in the Clare catchment rivers such as the Fergus, the Dunbeg and a series of smaller rivers where there has been no scientific evidence of catches nor data on salmon spawning etc. On the basis of little, if any, information these decisions are being made on the curtailment of activity, which will be detrimental to the tourist industry in particular. I would like the Minister to outline to the House how he proposes to deal with the matter because most of the emphasis has been on the curtailment of drift and draft netting in the estuaries and sea, but there is a range of other affected activities. Much damage is being done to salmon rivers because of the failure to take action to deal with some of the minor problems in catchments, which impair the development of the fisheries.

I support Senator Coghlan's comments on small businesses in rural areas. It is not only pubs in rural areas which are affected. A number of small businesses in my constituency have closed down in recent times. Where there is a case of people drawing down their savings or having to borrow money to meet overheads such as rates and insurance, it is necessary to take action. I would like the Minister for Finance, Deputy Cowen, to comment on this. I know small pubs and publicans are affected but small businesses in small towns are generally affected by the presence of supermarkets etc. Many of these small businesses have provided a service for generations and it is time we came to the rescue and acted on this serious developing crisis. Some 14 small businesses closed down in Ennis recently. This is alarming and action must be taken.