Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour)
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Question 261: To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the cost of obtaining inland fisheries licences for trout and salmon; the concessions available to the elderly and the unwaged; the changes that are planned; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19028/08]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)
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Under the Fisheries Acts, primary responsibility for the management, conservation, protection and development of the inland fisheries resource and in this case, the issue of salmon fishing licences, rests with the Central and Regional Fisheries Boards. Licence duties are increased on an annual basis and such increases are in line with the Consumer Price Index. Licence duties are set by me, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, at rates recommended by the National Fisheries Management Executive (Fisheries Boards' Managers) and endorsed by the National Salmon Commission.

The Salmon Rod Ordinary Licences (Alteration of Licence Duties) Order 2007 (S.I. 794 of 2007) gives details of the current licence fees for salmon and sea trout angling effective from 1 January 2008. The cost of an annual salmon licence is €134; a salmon rod (annual) district licence is €64; a salmon rod (twenty-one day) licence is €50 and a salmon rod (one-day) ordinary licence is €36. Further details are available on my Department's website at www.dcenr.gov.ie.

There are no plans to apply a reduced rate for anglers other than juveniles for whom a licence costs €20 per annum. Any such reduction would require amendments to the licensing regime provided for in the primary legislation. No licence is currently required for trout fishing.