David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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Question 88: To ask the Taoiseach the number of anglers that visit Ireland each year; the breakdown [i]vis-À-vis[/i] the different disciplines of angling such as sea angling, coarse angling, and game angling; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21318/10]

John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)
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The CSO's monthly Overseas Travel release contains data on the number of visitors to Ireland classified by their country of residence. These results are obtained from the CSO's Country of Residence Survey which is carried out continuously at the airports and ports in the Republic of Ireland. The CSO's quarterly Tourism and Travel release collects data on the number of visitors to Ireland classified by purpose of journey and residency. Data on activities, such as angling, are not available from either the Overseas Travel or the Tourism and Travel releases.

Fáilte Ireland's Survey of Travellers also collects information from visitors to Ireland, including participation in activities. This is a survey of departing passengers only who have spent at least one night in the Republic of Ireland. This data is then used with the results of the CSO's Country of residence survey to obtain estimates for total participation in different activities. The Fáilte Ireland Survey of Travellers estimated that a total of 132,000 visitors participated in Angling in 2009, this represents a decline of 7% on 2008 figures. Estimates of average annual participation in different types of angling activity for the years 2006 to 2008 are detailed in the following table.

*Estimates are based on the average number participating in angling from 2006 to 2008.Tourists may have participated in more than one angling activity. Estimates are based on data collected from the CSO's Country of Residence Survey (CRS) and Fáilte Ireland's Survey of Overseas Travellers.

Further detail on Angling activity is available from the Fáilte Ireland website.