Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 7 Mar 1996

Vol. 462 No. 7

Written Answers. - Fisheries Boards Staff.

Noel Treacy

Question:

118 Mr. N. Treacy asked the Minister for the Marine the total staff compliment including their grades and responsibilities for all the regional fisheries boards throughout the country; the amount of money allocated to each board in 1996; the purposes for which these funds are being expended; the amount of assets which each board holds; the location of these assets; the value of these assets; if he has satisfied himself with the performance of these boards. [5354/96]

Minister for the Marine (Mr. Barrett)

The permanent staff complement of the regional fisheries boards is shown in the following table.

Staff Complement of Fisheries Boards

Function	Grade	Number
Protection	Fishery Officers	95
	Assistant Inspectors	23
	Inspectors	17
Development	Fishery Officers	9
	Assistant Inspectors	20
	Inspectors	8
	Foremen and General Operatives	53
Pollution	Senior Fishery Environmental Officers	11
	Fishery Environmental Officers	2
Administration	Managers	7
	Assistant Managers	7
	Administrative Assistants	13
	Total	265

A further nine posts in the regional fisheries boards are currently frozen by Government Decision 28669 of 9 June 1995 regarding recruitment in the public service.

The Central Fisheries Board has a complement of 36 staff whose responsibilities can be broken down as follows: Fish Farms, six; Fisheries, seven; Administration, eight; Research/Technical/ Engineering, ten; Angling Promotion, five.

The Exchequer grant allocation to the Central Fisheries Board in 1996 is £8.896 million. The allocation of this grant between the Central and seven regional fisheries boards is shown in the following table.

Grants to Central and Regional Fisheries Boards in 1996

Board	Grant
	£000
Central	1,874
Eastern	852
Southern	754
South-Western	800
Shannon	1,056
Western	1,047
North-Western	806
Northern	893
Temporary Pay Grant (To be allocated between Boards as required	814
Total	8,896

The Exchequer grant, together with own resources generated by the fisheries boards, are allocated to meet expenses incurred by the boards in carrying out their responsibilities under the fisheries Acts. These responsibilities relate to the management, conservation, protection, development and improvement of inland fisheries.

It has not been possible to draw up a list of assets held by the fisheries board. The main categories and value of fixed and current assets held by the boards are, however, shown in the boards' latest annual report and accounts, a copy of which I will arrange to be forwarded to the Deputy.

In relation to the overall performance of the fisheries boards a fundamental overhaul of marine policy was initiated last year with a view to tapping the full potential of the marine sector. This includes a major review of the organisational and management structure of the fishery service.

This review, which is being undertaken at present by consultants, involves an examination of the institutional framework for the development and regulation of the inland fisheries, sea fisheries and aquaculture sectors and will include recommendations on measures to improve the coherence and efficiency of the delivery of public policies and services to those sectors. The central and regional fisheries boards are encompassed by this review.

The Deputy will also be aware that, following a report on the organisation and management of the Southern Regional Fisheries Board, which concluded that the affairs of that board were not being managed effectively, a commission was recently appointed to carry out certain functions of the board.