Molaim go léifear an Bille an Dara Uair. Ó thaobh gheilleagair dhe, is fíor a rá gurb é an bradán rí na n-iasc sa tír seo. Onnmhuirítear luach trí ceathrúnaí milliúin punt airgid sa mbliain den bhreac seo—sé sin le rá gurb é an bradán formhór mór dár n-onnmhuirithe éisc. Baineann sé sin leis an taobh tráchtálach de gheilleagar an bhradáin. Níl geilleagar an bhradáin, ámhthach, taobh le tráchtáil dhíreach ó eangach an iascaire go dtí bínse marmair an tsiopadóra. Is mór an tarraingt atá ag an mbradán ar an gcuairteóir. Tá a fhios againn gur fiú an chuartaíocht na milliúin móra airgid, ach is doiligh a mheas cén chuid dhe gur chóir a chur i leith na slatiascaireachta. Meastar gur fiú deich bpunt ar a laghad don tír gach bradán dá maraítear ag cuairteóirí. Tá daoine ann a mheasas a luach a bheith i bhfad níos airde ná an méad sin. Gan a bheith barainneach sa scéal, is fíor a rá go bhfanann an t-iascaire slait níos fuide, ar an mheán, ar a chuairt inár measc ná cuairteóirí eile. Má tá buachtáil ag an tír seo ar thíortha eile i dtaobh na cuartaíochta, déarfainn gurb í an iascaireacht slait í, agus má chothaítear agus má fhorbraítear gach a bhféadfar í bainfear barraíocht buntáiste as an mbuachtáil sin. Tháinig agus tiocfaidh an t-iascaire cuairteóra ar ais arís agus arís eile chugainn nuair a chuaigh agus nuair imeos an cuairteóir féachana ó thír go tír. Dá fheabhas an t-iascach slaite abhfus is amhlaidh is mó den chineál sin chuairteóra a thiocfas.
Nuair a dí-rialaíodh praghas an bhradáin thall roinnt bliain ó shoin chuaigh sé suas go mór, agus ar an abhar sin spreagadh an phóitseál thar cionn. Ní féidir lucht chaomhanta a chúiteamh sách maith as an teacht-isteach atá ag na Boird Chaomhnóirí leis an bhfadhb seo a cheannsú. Sé sin fáth an Bhille seo. Is dreamanna mórán neamh-spleácha iad na Boird seo i bhfeighil chaomhantais, agus go dtí roinnt bliain ó shoin bhíodar taobh le hairgead a gheofaí as cendúnais iascaigh slait agus eangacha agus rátaí ar chearta leithleasachta iascaigh. De bhárr ardú páighe is eile, ní leór na foinsí sin airgid anois chun a gcostais a ghlanadh, agus b'éigean deontais as Vóta an Iascaigh a sholáthair dóibh. Tá méadú mór ar na deontais le blianta beaga anuas. Is beag má d'athraigh teacht-isteach na mBord feadh na mbliain, agus tá luach onnmhuirithe gaibhte suas faoi cheathar nó faoi chúig. Caithfí praghas na gceadúnas a mhéadú faoi dhó le teacht-isteach na mBord a chur in araíocht a gcúram agus a gcostas. Luífeadh sé sin róthrom ar lucht na n-eangach agus ní chuideódh sé leis an gcuartaíocht. Onnmhuirítear saothrú na n-eangach beagnach ar fad agus íocfaidh siad an bhreis a bhéas orthu do réir mar shaothrós siad é. Síltear go gcaitear cuid na slat abhfus, agus meastar gur mar a chéile sa toradh ioncaim deich scilleach sa mbreis an tslat agus dhá phingin an punt meáchain dá maraíonn na slait. Tá sé measta go soláthróidh an dá bhealach seo an oiread eile is a bhailíos na Boird faoi láthair. Riarfaidh agus roinnfidh an t-Aire Talmhaíochta toradh na ndleacht nua seo, tar éis chomhairle a ghlacadh leis an Aire Airgeadais, de réir cáll na gceanntar éagsúl.
Tá dualgas orrainn caomhantas an iascaigh a chur chun cinn, agus is é mo thuairim go bhfuil costas an dualgais sin leagtha orra siúd gur cóir a bheith thíos leis.
The object of this Bill is to establish a fund, the income of which will be derived mainly from a levy on salmon exports and on salmon rod licences, and from which payments can be made to any board of conservators whose income is deemed to be insufficient to cover the cost of maintaining adequate protection of the salmon fisheries in their district.
To meet the expenses of protection and conservation—represented in the main by employment of waterkeepers and supervisory staff—these boards are provided with two main statutory sources of income, namely, fishery rates and licence duties on the various nets, weirs, rods and other fishing engines used in their districts. Where such revenue proves insufficient to meet the immediate requirements of protection expenses, grants have hitherto been made from voted moneys in an effort to make good the deficiency. In recent years the demands for State assistance have mounted steadily higher and higher; thus where in 1949-50 a sum of only £2,500 was provided in the Vote for Fisheries for the payment of grants to boards of conservators, the corresponding figure for 1952-53 was £3,500 and that for 1953-54, £8,000. As matters stand, there is every reason to expect that the statutory revenues of boards of conservators from the sources referred to will have to be supplemented to an even greater extent in the future. Two main factors are at work in bringing about this situation. One is the very high level at which the price of salmon has been maintained for the past 12 years or so, which has led to increased activity by poachers. Protection services have required to be strengthened all round to meet this new situation, and this brings us to the second factor in the situation, which is the fact that wages of protection staff have increased steadily over the same period and now stand, in some instances, at a rate of as much as three times what was paid prior to the increase in salmon prices dating from 1941.
In an effort to meet their heavy commitments, boards of conservators have been obliged to strike progressively higher fishery rates, which, in many cases, now stand at a higher rate per £ than those of local authorities. It has been suggested that an increase in fishing licences, which were last revised in 1925, is overdue. While this may be so in regard to some modes of fishing, I am not prepared to impose an all-round increase on licence duties, which would need to be doubled in order to provide the revenue required to bridge the gap between total revenues of the boards throughout the country and their total expenditures. I am not satisfied that the burden of the increased costs would be equitably distributed by means of such an increase, which would bear very harshly on the working fisherman in particular, as adding to his overhead costs before he can start fishing.
The salmon fishing industry is a particularly valuable one, producing as it does not only a catch by means of commercial methods yielding an exportable surplus valued at an average of £679,000 over the four years 1950, 1951, 1952 and 1953, but also the highly desirable sporting amenity, the value of which as a tourist asset is generally recognised. It is in the interests of this industry that adequate protection should be afforded to breeding fish on which survival of the industry depends, and that those who engage in illegal methods of fishing should be dealt with as they deserve. It is, therefore, no more than reasonable that the industry as a whole should contribute towards the expenses incurred by boards of conservators in carrying out this valuable work.
The scheme of levies set out in this Bill has been drawn up with a view to securing that in the course of a few years a sum of approximately £15,000 per annum may be collected in a full normal year. The rate of export levy is proposed by Section 3 to be limited to a maximum of 2d. per lb., only to be exceeded if, as provided for in subsection (4) of that section, an Order prescribing a higher rate is confirmed by resolution of each House of the Oireachtas. So far as can now be foreseen, it should not be necessary to resort to this special expedient, save perhaps in the event of an abnormally low catch on which the amount of export levy would be entirely inadequate and insignificant in comparison with the higher prices to be expected in a time of scarcity. Judging by the experience of recent years, however, it would seem sufficient that the rate of export levy should be fixed at 2d. a lb. on exports up to the end of May in each year and ld. per lb. from 1st June until the end of the season, the latter period being that in which fish of the grilse type predominate, and market prices generally strike a lower level.
In Section 4 a maximum limit of one-half the licence duty is specified in regard to the levy on salmon rod licences. As in the case of the export levy, it is not at present intended to prescribe the maximum rate of levy on rod fishermen who pay £2 for a salmon rod licence for the whole season and £1 for short-term licences such as those issued by certain boards for 14 days or for a period after 1st July in each season.
Considering the usual annual catch by the average rod fisherman, and making allowance for the sale of a certain proportion of catch through commercial channels which would ultimately attract export levy, it has been calculated that a duty at the rate of 10/- on each full-season licence and 5/- on each part-season licence would be roughly equivalent to a levy of 2d. per lb. on the retained catch, that is the catch which is not sold commercially. This is an approximate calculation, but I have no reason to think that it would operate unfairly. The effect of what is provided in subsection (4) of this section is that no levy is payable on the 10/- endorsement licence, this being a licence issued at a reduced rate in one district to a person who has already taken out a full season's licence in respect of another district. Such persons will, of course, have, in fact, contributed levy on the original licence and are not called upon to pay again.
The remaining provisions, other than Section 7, of the Bill are in the main of the routine nature customary in regard to the establishment and maintenance of a statutory fund. The provision in Section 7 for the making of payments, either by way of grant or by repayable advances into the fund out of voted moneys, is one which has been inserted as a precaution and should not be taken as indicating any intention of maintaining this fund in credit by means of regular subventions from the Exchequer. The sources of income feeding the fund should be ample for the purpose, taking one year with another, and, unless very exceptional circumstances should arise, it is not intended to have recourse to voted moneys, save, perhaps, by way of repayable advances to tide over some temporary shortage arising, say, from a disappointing salmon fishing season.