Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Will the Leader invite the Minister of State with responsibility for Gaeltacht affairs and natural resources, Deputy Kyne, to the House to talk about inland fisheries? I was interested in what Senator Mac Lochlainn said about the difficulty relating to Lough Foyle. There is a form of apartheid regarding fisheries in Ireland. I met the Minister of State and the chief executive and chairman of Inland Fisheries Ireland yesterday. Fisheries in Ireland are regarded as free. Tourists can come here and fish but that does not apply to the midlands where someone can get a 21-day permit for €25 or a family one-day permit for one adult and three children and where there is an adult charge of €45 per year, a charge of €25 for senior citizens and a one-day charge of €10 for juveniles. This applies to the Rivers Suck, Inny, Brosna, Little Brosna and Camlin and tributaries. It affects parts of Galway, all Roscommon and parts of Westmeath and Offaly. In respect of the River Suck, beside which I live, the tributaries of Lough O'Flynn, Hollygrove Lake in Athleague, Stonehams Lake in Castlecoote, Lough Lung and Blacks Lough in Castlecoote are all affected by this charge but nowhere else in Ireland is this charge applied. We are being discriminated against in respect of attracting tourists. I compliment the work of Inland Fisheries in respect of investing the money that has been raised in that area to bring about better services and stocking of rivers. That is fine but we are a small country. Why should one area be discriminated against when it comes to a charge? If it applies to one area, it should apply to all areas or it should not apply at all. That is my case and I cannot understand why others have not raised this issue. People who own guest houses, pubs and other facilities and who pay rates are being affected yet the people they want to attract from Italy and Great Britain in particular must pay this fee. People are being told by the magazines that fishing in Ireland is free and that all its rivers run free but that is not the case. I will use this House to bring about a change. The Minister of State agreed yesterday that he would look into the matter but I want to highlight it in a broader forum here because in fairness to this House, and the fact that it has been retained, it has a wider distribution of information than the press conference in Buswells Hotel yesterday.