Niall Ó Brolcháin (Green Party)

Given that the current structure has been in place for 30 years, it is appropriate that we examine it afresh. It is welcome, therefore, that the Inland Fisheries Bill 2009 has come before us for our consideration. However, while it contains a number of positive measures, I am concerned as a Senator from Galway that we might lose the local focus which has developed over the years. Whenever we replace existing regional bodies, such as health boards, with national bodies, we create greater efficiencies through central administration at the risk of losing local knowledge which has been built up over many years.

The habitats directive and the water frameworks directive are substantial pieces of European legislation. Having looked at the European legislation, the habitats directive and the water framework directive, in particular, are fairly substantial pieces of legislation, and this Bill looks at implementing those.

I had the great honour of being vice-chair of the Western River Basin District Project - that is quite a mouthful but there are river basin district projects right around the country - and I certainly welcome the section of the Bill which looks at implementing the structures around the logical geographical areas of the river basin districts. That is an innovative way of looking at water. It is correct that the river basin districts cut across geographical boundaries. Fish do not obey national boundaries and borders. They just do what they have been doing since time immemorial. Fish just swim where they feel like it; they do not pay attention to passports etc. Therefore, the way matters are being structured in the Bill is the correct way to do it.

This Bill looks at the area of conservation. Senator Quinn mentioned invasive species. As I know from my past experience, water is one of the key attributes of the health of an ecology, an economy and a society. Water is absolutely crucial to our future in this country. Traditionally, we have thought of ourselves as having extremely good, healthy water but on many occasions the reality has proved to be quite different. We must work hard to ensure our water quality is up to the standards we need and expect. Having good quality clean water in future will be one of our greatest assets. This country's wealth can definitely be determined by having good quality food, good quality water and good locally produced energy. Those are the areas that will underpin future economic wealth and the future environmental health of our society. Luckily, due to the lack of over population, we have a fairly pristine environment in terms of water. As people point out, we have a great deal of water - much water certainly comes out of the sky in the west from time to time.

We have tended to take water for granted. Having spoken to many fishermen around Ireland they, in most cases, are great conservationists. The health of our rivers and lakes is a great measure of the health of our environment. It is to some extent the proverbial canary in the mine shaft. My father remembers looking as a young fellow over the Salmon Weir Bridge in Galway and seeing endless salmon ready to swim up the river. A few years ago I had the great privilege of seeing something similar, but the fact is that the salmon stocks have decreased considerably, as have many other fishing stocks in the country, and a significant amount of management needs to take place to ensure we have the high quality of fishing stocks that we need.

Clearly, there are issues with fish farms, and the way fish farming practices and our management of water practices are carried forward. I put forward a view a number of years ago that, in the case of our rivers and lakes - Lough Corrib would be the area that I have much understanding of - we need to be careful about building in their proximity, how we manage the catchment areas and how we manage the local environment, and this Bill is largely putting forward a framework for dealing with such issues.

However, a number of years ago we in Galway city had a problem with cryptosporidium in the water. There is still much cryptosporidium in Lough Corrib. There is still an enormous amount of pollution going into the lakes and rivers around the country. We rely on water treatment to filter these out but I believe we need to ensure that pollution does not go into the lakes and rivers in the first place. We need to have rivers and lakes which are as pristine as possible. It is, of course, the fisheries by which we can judge the health and quality of the ecosystems in the lakes.

Senator Quinn spoke of invasive species. Lagrosiphon major is a significant problem in Galway. It is a pond weed which does not have any natural enemies and it can take over our lakes and rivers. The Minister needs to look at how we can save the habitats of the lakes so that invasive species do not destroy them.

Finally, I will mention something which I always find quite extraordinary. The pearl mussels in Lough Corrib and around the country are disappearing one by one. Zebra mussels and other invasive species are taking over our lakes. The pearl mussels are the longest living species in this country. They live to over 150 years. Nobody lives as long as pearl mussels. There are pearl mussels alive today which were there before this country became a republic. It is quite extraordinary that we have such species but, unfortunately, their conservation is not going well. The conservation aspect needs to be ramped up because the lakes and rivers of our country are a national treasure. This is a good Bill and I hope it does the job of keeping our country clean.