Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 March 2017
1136. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the amount of money collected by IFI relative to fishing licences; the number of fisherman paying the extra €25.00 to support conservation measures; the amount collected to date; the amount spent to date and the details of that spend; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13833/17]
View answerInland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) manages the Salmon Conservation Fund (SCF) and the individual contribution to the Salmon Conservation Fund is 50% of the total cost of the salmon fishing licence fee payable.
Details of funds collected by IFI in each year from 2007 to 2016 for the Salmon Conservation Fund are shown in the following table. Expenditure from the fund to 2015 and the number of fishermen paying the conservation component are also included.
|
Year |
No. of Anglers |
No. of Commercial fishermen |
Total Funds collected |
Amount of Spend to date |
Status |
|
2007 |
19,869 |
161 |
€636,858 |
€450,363 |
Closed off |
|
2008 |
19,914 |
160 |
€697,186 |
€400,217 |
Closed off |
|
2009 |
18,314 |
187 |
€654,157 |
€365,276 |
Closed off |
|
2010 |
17,982 |
178 |
€579,552 |
€467,049 |
Ongoing |
|
2011 |
19,899 |
268 |
€607,704 |
€446,682 |
Ongoing |
|
2012 |
19,588 |
250 |
€555,799 |
€305,868 |
Ongoing |
|
2013 |
19,109 |
238 |
€541,070 |
€312,637 |
Ongoing |
|
2014 |
18,085 |
159 |
€512,248 |
€164,192 |
Ongoing |
|
2015 |
18,460 |
110 |
€508,221 |
€68,438 |
Ongoing |
|
2016 |
18,303 |
110 |
€504,452 |
N/A |
Funds to be allocated in 2017 |
In 2016, €504,452 was collected from the sale of salmon angling and commercial fishing licences and funds will be allocated in 2017 to suitable projects. Some suitable projects may proceed in part only or may not proceed. Any underspends in projects or funds decommitted are carried forward to the next year for reallocation to additional projects.
From 2007 to 2016, there were in excess of 230 projects allocated funding under the salmon conservation fund and details can be found within the ‘Salmon Conservation Fund Reports’ for each of the years 2007 to 2015 on the IFI website: www.fisheriesireland.ie/Salmon-Management/salmon-conservation-fund.html.
If the Deputy requires copies of reports or has a specific case or cases in mind, I would be happy to ask IFI to provide briefing.
