Vol. 514 No. 6
131 Mr. Stanton asked the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources the amount of money spent by his Department on sea angling matters in the past year; the percentage of his Department's budget dedicated to this area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5131/00]
Sea angling falls within the statutory remit of the central and regional fisheries boards which receive funding from my Department for the general purposes of inland fisheries. Sea angling is not identified as a specific item within the budget allocation.
Under the tourism angling measure, TAM, of the Operational Programme for Tourism 1994-99 grant aid of £92,000 has been given to six sea angling projects in 1999. Overall, 17 sea angling projects were approved under the measure at a total cost of £474,000. The total amount of Exchequer and European Regional Development Fund funds available under the measure was £17.2 million.
Under the National Development Programme Plan 2000-2006, the Government has allocated £24 million for tourism and recreational angling andsea-angling projects will be eligible for grant aid under this new measure.
