Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 28 Apr 1998

Vol. 490 No. 2

Adjournment Debate. - Angling Programme.

Mr. Kenny

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for giving me the opportunity to raise this matter. A cutback of £800,000 has been forced on the western fisheries board's programme of development for the Corrib and Mask system in the context of its proposal to carry out budgetary works of £1.6 million this year. That will have serious consequences for the proper development of the lake fisheries involved and of the tributary system to those lakes. It will also affect manning levels in the area.

It should be remembered the great western lakes system is a game fishing resource and not a coarse fishing area in the category of the lakes in County Cavan and surrounding counties. Those lakes are a European resource and yet they are being singled out for a cutback in development which will have serious consequences for the area. The future welfare of the local tourism angling economy in the great western lakes district is heavily dependent on the completion of the Corrib system development programme.

The western fisheries board submitted a budgetary proposal to carry out £1.6 million of works during 1998. Those works include a wide variety of locations and streams and among those included are developmental works on the Maam, Fealemore, Owenbrin, Glensaul, Srah sections of the Robe scheme, streams in the Carra system, the Clare, Black, Cross and Cornamona rivers. This is a huge developmental programme.

The technical committee dealing with these proposals approved the works involved. However, the management committee proposed a cutback of £800,000. Presumably that was on the basis of pressure from coarse angling interests or because of a fear that spending several millions on the great western lake system might be seen to be an undue expenditure. This money will not be available again. Those lakes are an international resource. The total moneys required is approximately £5 million and is a very small part of the overall £300 million in that programme.

The Minister should not have any fear about spending this money because given what is required under the programme it will be money well spent. The fisheries board has personnel on hand who have been trained in water safety courses, satellite positioning and location and in a great deal of practical but skilled restoration and improvement works on the rivers and streams in the area. Those personnel should not be lost due to a cutback in resources. The Minister should ensure that, irrespective of whatever method is adopted, their service will continue.

Given that Lough Mask comprises 22,000 acres in extent, these trained personnel are essential to the programme of works involved. Given that Lough Mask and Lough Corrib comprise two of the great trout fishing entities in Europe and there are now only 13 wild brown trout fisheries left in the Continent, surely the Minister would be fully entitled and justified to provide finance to restore, manage and protect these unique resources for present and future generations.

The spend on the east coast has been huge in comparison to the west. I call on the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources to redress this imbalance. To ignore the proper and managed development of this unique resource is criminal in the context of its overall potential.

The western fisheries board has done an excellent job to date and its programme should be allowed to continue and funded as originally agreed. The Minister is probably well aware of this, but I warn him if he does not proceed along this course of action and allow this programme to be carried out, as originally agreed, he will draw upon himself the wrath of thousands of people, not only anglers, and he will do so at his peril.

The local tourism angling economy is heavily dependent on this element of the Corrib system developmental programme being completed. Members of the management committee may or may not have been on Lough Mask or Lough Corrib, but they have taken a retrograde decision which will be destructive in its consequences for the proper development of the area and it is one that flies in the face of an already agreed programme. In that context I ask the Minister to reverse this decision to ensure the moneys allocated for this programme will be fully spent, as originally intended, because those moneys are justified in developing, managing and protecting a resource that is unique in Ireland and Europe. Credit will be given to the Minister when he does that.

Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources (Dr. Woods)

I welcome this opportunity to update the House on progress in relation to the western lakes project and the tourism angling measure generally. The technical committee, to which Deputy Kenny referred, approves many technical projects and states they are technically good projects, but the management committee has the task of deciding the allocation of the funds thereafter.

The western lakes project is one of the flagship projects receiving support under the measure. The objective is to restore Loughs Corrib, Mask and Carra as prime brown trout fisheries, thus attracting more tourist anglers back to the west. Funding of £1.2 million has already been allocated to earlier phases of the project. On foot of a further funding application by the Western Regional Fisheries Board, I announced last week that an additional £800,000 has been approved to support the next phase of development. Far from funding being reduced, this further allocation brings the total funding to the western lakes project to £2 million, which is nearly 12 per cent of total funding available over the whole period under the tourism angling measure.

The additional funding for the project also represents 40 per cent of this most recent round. Therefore, approximately £2 million is available in this round and the western lakes will get 40 per cent of that amount as a national allocation. In the context of available resources, the project is receiving a significant level of funding which reflects the importance of the development.

The objective of the tourism angling measure, which is a component of the operational programme for tourism, is to develop the national angling product to best international standards and significantly increase the number of tourist anglers visiting the country. Angling has tremendous benefits from the tourism perspective as a year round activity often in non-traditional tourism locations, delivering significant local economic return as well as contributing to the tourism sector overall. The main flagship investments under this measure have been in the west.

The £17 million being invested under the tourism angling measure up to 1999 is the largest investment ever in inland fisheries development in western Europe. Eligible projects include instream development, stock management, establishment of new fisheries, rehabilitation of fisheries and the provision of signposts and other educational and information material for visitors. The fundamental criteria for eligibility are that the fisheries are capable of attracting additional foreign visitors, are readily available for tourist use and demonstrably generate economic benefit and additional employment. Over 100 projects have been approved to date throughout the country and are already making a significant contribution in terms of enhancing the fisheries resource itself and to tourism. I announced a further round of projects totalling £2 million last week which includes the next phase of the western lakes project at £800,000.

In order for the full value of this ongoing investment to be realised, a major drive on the marketing front is required. Marketing plans are an intrinsic requirement for development projects and I also announced at the end of last year that funding is being specially earmarked for an angling market research and promotion initiative. This is essential as part of the tourism angling measure. I have mandated the Central Fisheries Board to work closely with Bord Fáilte to deliver on this important initiative which will involve the investment of £350,000 in marketing the angling product.

The House will appreciate the importance of ensuring that the benefits of the tourism angling measure are maximised through well planned and well spread investment throughout the country. The objective is to deliver game, coarse and sea angling projects with a balanced regional spread and a good mix of public, private and community group initiatives. The flagship projects, including the western lakes and the Moy fishery, are vitally important for national development strategies for angling tourism. Considerable benefit is being obtained also from a wide range of smaller projects round the country where local fisheries facilities can be upgraded at a comparatively small cost by angling clubs and local community groups as well as the regional fisheries boards.

The further round of tourism angling projects which I announced last week will create up to 100 jobs and are spread through all regions. They include a number of smaller projects which will show significant payback in tourism angling terms. The scope for development of the inland fisheries resource and the considerable demands for funding make it imperative that we have investment strategies which are prioritised and focused on delivering the maximum return. The management committee which decides on grant applications and which operates under the aegis of the Central Fisheries Board has been expanded recently to encompass a wider range of experience and expertise, particularly in the tourism area, which will ensure delivery on the targets and objectives of the measure. The committee carried out a thorough review of the project process earlier this year to ensure that support is targeted at projects which show the best returns and that the most effective use is made of the remaining funds up to 1999.

I am pleased to note the heartening increase in projects led by local anglers and tourism groups over the last 12 months and the growing number of coarse angling projects receiving support. This is being achieved together with ongoing significant investment support for game angling fisheries and for rehabilitation strategies for salmon, trout and sea trout stocks in key catchments. The impact overall of all these components of our development strategy will be positive and permanent.

Within this overall context, significant support is continuing to be made available for the next phases of large scale projects, including the western lakes project. The additional £800,000 of funding now committed to that project sets the western board on course to continue its development programme in a focused and prioritised way and to deliver the best outcome in terms of economic and tourism returns. I have no doubt that the western lakes project will result in a restoration of these valuable fisheries and a significant increase in the value of the tourism angling product to the benefit of the western region and the country as a whole. This major investment in the western lakes by the State and the European Union underlines the commitment of all concerned to restoring them to their former glory.

I have every confidence that the Western Regional Fisheries Board will deliver effectively on this phase of the project and that the tangible benefits of this significant investment will be demonstrated through increased tourism numbers, economic activity and jobs in the west. I am sure the House will endorse this investment strategy for tourism angling generally and for the western lakes in particular.