Brendan Griffin (Kerry South, Fine Gael)
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424. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources his views on a matter (details supplied) regarding fishing licences and so on; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20891/14]

Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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I am advised by Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) that The South Western River Basin District (SWRBD) ‘Managed Community Rainbow Trout fisheries’ programme is run as a community initiative and is not a commercial venture. Permit sales from these fisheries do not cover the operational costs. The budget allocated each year to this programme by IFI subsidises these fisheries for the benefit of the communities in which they reside. The closure of Lough Caum, while unfortunate from a tourism and local angling viewpoint, was necessary due to reduced funding for the ‘Managed Community Rainbow Trout fisheries’ programme for 2014. As all lakes are stocked from the rearing-on facility at Inchigeela on a weekly basis, the cost of continuing to stock Lough Caum, which is the furthest lake away from this facility, is prohibitive.