Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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340. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if he will provide a breakdown in tabular form of the 2011, 2012 and 2013 budgets of Inland Fisheries Ireland, including moneys spent on research, wages, pension, current activities and capital expenditure and inform the Oireachtas of the reasons accepted by him or his Department to justify any increase in budgetary allocation to the IFI since its establishment. [44167/13]

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) was established on 1 July 2010 following the enactment of the Inland Fisheries Ireland Act 2010, with the merger of the seven Regional and the Central Fisheries Boards. Direct Exchequer funding for IFI was reduced by €2.582 million in 2010 compared to 2009 which is mainly attributable to savings arising from the restructuring of the inland fisheries sector. It is not possible to fully disaggregate on an item by item basis the savings which have arisen from the merger of the former regional boards; however it is clear that significant administrative savings have been made.

The establishment of IFI has facilitated more efficient and effective management of the inland fisheries resource. In addition, it has brought to bear a national perspective to formulating policy which is more streamlined, coherent and integrated. There is also a single allocation of funding to the organisation on a national basis. IFI are also employing new technologies, such as covert CCTV cameras, use of kayaks to conduct silent patrols along rivers and access areas which previously would have been difficult to get into unnoticed, in order to significantly augment coverage and increase time spent by officers on surveillance techniques which are more resource efficient to assist in the detection of illegal activities.

The Exchequer funding drawn down by IFI from my Department for 2010 (the year of IFI's establishment), 2011 and 2012 is as follows: 2010 - €26.479 million; 2011 – €24.971 million; 2012 – €25.448 million. The funding allocated and available for draw down in 2013 is €28.062 million (including once off capital allocation of €3m). Overall, as compared with the position prior to the establishment of IFI, Exchequer funding from 2009 to 2013 has reduced by €1.012 million (€4.012 million if the once capital allocation of €3 million in 2013 is excluded). The 2013 once-off additional capital allocation of €3 million was ring-fenced for the procurement of a new Headquarters for IFI as part of a planned property rationalisation as the organisation seeks, in line with Government Policy, to exit from expensive leases. This rationalisation strategy will generate efficiencies and also savings over time in relation to lease costs and in terms of significantly better energy efficiency of the new HQ.

The table below details money spent on research, pay, pension, current activities and capital expenditure. It should be noted that Exchequer allocations do not fully cover IFI's costs and the shortfall is made up from IFI’s own resources which mainly comes from licence, permit and contract income.