asked the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries the number of meetings he has had with the National Council of Boards of Conservators since he was appointed Minister.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Fishery Boards Council.
8.
I have not as yet met the Council of Boards of Fishery Conservators. As this is a consultative body meetings are arranged from time to time as circumstances require.
Surely over a period of five months the Parliamentary Secretary must have been aware of the necessity for having meetings with the National Council of the Boards of Conservators because they are the statutory body responsible for implementing any orders that are made by the Parliamentary Secretary.
The Deputy is making a statement.
That being the case, in the interests of proper working and of the whole fishing industry it is necessary to have consultations with this very important body.
The Council of Boards of Fishery Conservators is a consultative and advisory body which acts on behalf of boards of conservators. It has no statutory power, but there is provision in the Fisheries Act whereby a grant from the salmon conservancy fund can be made towards its expenses. I should like to remind the Deputy that during his period of office he met the board, at their request, on only one occasion, in September, 1972. He took over the Fisheries Branch at the time of the upheaval in May, 1970, and he was in office more than two years before he met this body which he thinks it is so important for me to meet now.
Surely the Parliamentary Secretary is aware that, while I had only one meeting with the Council of the Board of Conservators, I had constant meetings with various boards around the country? Surely it is unreasonable to think that a new measure which was contained in the recent order shortening the net salmon fishing season was taken without any consultation with the boards concerned. Asking them to implement this order was disastrous.
The order the Deputy has referred to was taken after consultation with biologists and with many other fishery interests. I am satisfied it was justified.
I should like to remark that the Parliamentary Secretary knows his job very well. I hope he will not take into consideration Mr. Mulcahy's ideas.
The Deputy must not engage in personalities in this House.