I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."
The aim of this Bill is to implement the proposals which I devised earlier this year and which ended the rod licence dispute.
The Bill provides for the establishment of fisheries co-operative societies to raise and disburse for the public benefit, funds for the development of trout and coarse fisheries in the various fisheries regions.
The structure and framework proposed is grounded in the principles of the co-operative movement and of local participation and local democracy. It will allow anglers themselves through a democratic procedure to make the decisions on the best and most effective process for raising money.
I am confident that this framework offers a solid basis for the development of trout and coarse angling.
Most Deputies are aware of the detailed background to this Bill, namely the continuing need to put inland fisheries development on a firm financial footing.
Ireland possesses an inland fisheries resource which is unique in Europe. Geographical considerations have endowed us with extensive natural waterways which are capable of sustaining large populations of fresh-water species and a combination of historical and economic factors has served to ensure that we have been spared the industrial and population pressures which brought about the demise of fisheries in more prosperous neighbouring countries.
The potential for development of this indigenous self-renewing resource has been recognised since historical times in the case of the salmon fisheries which have been protected and developed by private owners over the centuries and by Board of Conservators since the 1800s with financial assistance and back-up from state authorities while salmon fishermen and fishery owners made contributons by way of licence duties and fishery rates.
Trout and coarse fish were, however, for long regarded as the poor relation and were largely left to fend for themselves. There was no State licence duty and generally speaking neither fishery rates nor permit fees were paid. For some time past however there has been a realisation that these fisheries have considerable potential for development both as a pastime for local anglers and as an amenity for tourist anglers from both home and abroad with very positive implications for income and employment generation.
Pressure accordingly began to build up on central Government to establish structures to bring about such development and make Exchequer funding available. The first efforts were made in this direction in 1952 with the setting up of the Inland Fisheries Trust at the instigation of the then Minister for Fisheries. This trust was intended to be a self-financing development body for trout and coarse-fish with a voluntary membership comprising all trout and coarse fish anglers and with the State helping out in the early years with priming finance. However as the years passed the funds contributed in membership fees tailed off and the trust came increasingly to depend on Exchequer funding while at the same time calls were mounting generally for more public funds to be put into development work.
In the reorganisation of fisheries administration which took place in 1980, the trust was abolished and the development of trout and coarse fisheries was entrusted to newly created fisheries boards financed for the most part out of public funds. In an effort to attract increased funding from anglers a voluntary registration system was introduced whereby anglers who paid a registration fee (initially £5 per annum) were entitled to vote in the election of trout and coarse fish representatives on the various boards. This charge was increased to £9.50 in 1985. Nevertheless in 1987 the total contribution came to only £20,000 from a total of almost 80,000 home anglers and 50,000 visitors.
The net position then was that whereas the State was annually spending around £5 million on services benefiting trout and coarse fishing, only a minimal contribution to financing that service was coming from the angling fraternity in whose interests the services were provided in the first place. At the same time the same interests continued to seek more and improved services and yet more Government spending in an environment where drastic measures were having to be taken to curtail Exchequer borrowing and cut back on public expenditure generally.
This then was the background to the introduction of the licensing system for trout and coarse fish angling from the beginning of 1988, to complement the licences which have been required for salmon angling since the middle of the 19th century and which yielded about £170,000 in revenue to the fisheries boards in 1987. It was hoped to raise an extra £500,000 for inland fisheries development from these new arrangements.
The system, however, met strong opposition in some parts of the State and fishing, including tourist angling, was disrupted in some areas. Some communities were bitterly divided on the issue. The system did not succeed in its objectives. I was particularly troubled by the scale of the social division and bitterness which was engendered. Here I want to pay tribute to the Minister of State at the Department of Finance, Deputy Daly, who strove might and main to resolve this conflict and dissipate the bitterness at that time.
The programme for Government in July 1989 recognised that the difficulties in relation to angling licences were part of a wider issue involving the funding of inland fisheries development as an important national resource. On coming to office at that stage I undertook in accordance with the terms of the programme a series of consultations and discussions with interested parties with a view to resolving the difficulties. As this process advanced I became convinced that a totally new arrangement was required. I felt that a system which would facilitate co-operation between all interested parties for their mutual benefit was the only realistic proposition if fences were to be mended.
Eventually after many meetings with both those who favoured licences and those who did not favour licences I devised a set of proposals which were acceptable to those who had opposed the licensing system. Most Members are no doubt aware that normal fishing activity took place during 1990 and that the disruption which disturbed the 1988 and 1989 seasons in some parts of the State was thankfully absent. This Bill is aimed at implementing my proposals. It provides for licences for trout and coarse fish angling to be replaced and for angling development co-operatives to be established in each of the fisheries regions. These co-operatives are to raise and disburse funds on fisheries development work of public benefit. Anglers and others will be able to contribute to the co-operatives through the purchase of share certificates. Certificates will cost £12 annual, £5 for 21 days and £3 for three days. Holders of annual share certificates are to become ordinary members of co-operatives and are to be eligible, provided they live in Ireland, to vote in ballots and elections.
Angling clubs and other bodies will be enabled to become corporate members of co-operatives. No-one will be entitled to have more than one vote in any ballot or election conducted by a co-operative. The provisions for the integration of angling clubs into the structure and for recognising their role in and contribution to fisheries development is, for me, a most important element of the proposed new structure. A central element of the opposition to the licensing system was that it did not acknowledge the major and valuable efforts of clubs in carrying out work for the public benefit and which is in many respects similar to that carried out by State agencies. Indeed, this was a point also echoed to some extent by the many anglers groups who supported the licensing concept. I am determined that this work must be recognised in a constructive fashion and that the new framework will foster and develop further the contribution made by angling clubs.
I wish to emphasise that the title "fisheries co-operative society" is meant to reflect the spirit under which the co-operatives are to be established rather than any legal definition. Purchase of a share certificate or membership of a co-operative will not confer any proprietorial rights on anyone. I would hope, however, that the establishment of the co-operatives will introduce a spirit of co-operation, a form of comhar na gcomharsan to our rivers and lakelands.
The concept of a compulsory licence to fish for trout and coarse fish caused difficulties for some anglers. On the other hand the previous voluntary registration system was patently unsuccessful. I have, therefore, decided to introduce an arrangement whereby the members of any co-operative in a secret ballot may decide to make possession of a current share certificate a requirement to fish in their area provided 60 per cent of those voting vote in favour of such a requirement.
Each co-operative is to hold the first such ballot at the same time as the first elections of their management committees which are to be held at the same time as the next elections to the regional fisheries boards which are due to be held in December 1991. Subsequent ballots on this issue may be held at times defined in the Bill. A co-operative may at such ballots rescind an earlier decision provided 60 per cent of those voting vote accordingly.
The Bill, in any event, provides for certain categories of people to be exempt from any share certificate requirement viz. persons under 18 and over 66 years of age; those in receipt of unemployment assistance or invalidity pension. I propose to provide matching funds within parameters to be agreed with each co-operative for a limited period to encourage co-operatives to raise as much finance as possible through the sale of share certificates. Grants to societies are to be paid out of the Exchequer allocation.
I propose to appoint trustees to manage the co-operatives pending the first elections of management committees. I also intend to have rules formulated for the regulation of the co-operatives which will ensure proper accountability in respect of all funds and that funds are expended in accordance with recognised fisheries management practice.
In an area where possession of a share certificate is required to fish, this requirement is to be enforced by authorised officers of the relevant regional fisheries board acting at the request and on behalf of the co-operative. The fisheries boards have a statutory obligation to implement the fisheries Acts and their position is being maintained. Penalities for contravention of this law are to be related to annual share certificate changes i.e. not greater than ten times the annual share cost and subject to a maximum of £1,000. These I believe are realistic levels.
Trout and coarse fish angling representatives on the regional fisheries boards are to be elected by the members of the co-operatives. In order to be eligible to vote in these elections members will need to be ordinarily resident in Ireland and to have been co-operative members in each of the three preceding years. I am providing, however, that for the purposes of the next election current membership of the co-operatives will suffice.
I have decided that persons who reside in any part of Ireland should be eligible to vote in co-operative elections and regional fisheries board elections. Inland fisheries is a matter of mutual interest to both jurisdictions and my Department, and the boards, have co-operated most effectively with Northern Ireland fisheries agencies over the years to protect and enhance the resource. Persons residing in any part of the country were traditionally entitled to vote in elections of boards of conservators prior to 1980 and many people from the Six Counties continue to take a keen and constructive interest in fisheries in this jurisdiction. I believe that my decision in this respect is a good practical means of extending the hand of friendship across the Border.
As I mentioned earlier, licences have been required for salmon angling since the middle of the 19th century, and this arrangement is to continue. There is general agreement among interested parties however that the categories of licence should be revised. I propose to reintroduce district licences at a cost of £12 per annum. I have also decided, in consultation with the salmon anglers, to introduce a juvenile salmon angling licence costing £8 per annum and a oneday licence costing £3. These charges are all very reasonable.
Some salmon anglers sought to have the benefit of these new arrangements during the 1990 season. I was unable to accommodate them. I have decided however that those who purchased annual licences for salmon angling in 1990 shall be entitled on application to a district or juvenile licence free of charge in 1991. In effect the purchase of an annual licence for £25 in 1990 is to cover them for two seasons' fishing at district licence level.
Tá súil agam go bhfuil ré nua ag tosnú i gcúrsaí iascaigh intíre. Tá dualgas orainn go léir obair as láimh a chéile ar son leasa na tíre. Ar scáth a chéile a mhairimid. Tugann an Bille seo deis do iascairí na tíre comhoibriú lena chéile agus leis na húdaráis chun feabhas a chur ar chúrsaí.
I set myself two goals when tackling this problem, the raising of revenue and achieving reconciliation among anglers. The settlement formula which I have devised has already enabled significant progress to be made in the restoration of normality in the angling sphere. This Bill I believe lays the foundation to enable these aims to be fully achieved in the medium term.
When the settlement proposals were announced I got the following four lines of poetry from Professor J. A. Richmond of the Department of Greek, University College, Dublin, two splendid hexameter/pentameter couplets.
Excutiens hamos piscator harundine longa
Praetor, laetatur, maxime, lege tua;
Undique caupones tandem gaudere videmus,
At trepidus fugiens "uae mihi" piscis ait.
In prose, my pedestrian loose translation is "The fisherman as he shakes out his hooks on a long rod rejoices very greatly at your law, O Praetor. On all sides, at last, we see the inn-keepers rejoice but the fish, fleeing in fear and trembling, says `woe is me'."
In a burst of generosity I am giving a £20 Christmas book token for the best verse translation — open to all who work in Teach Laighin. I may even get a practising poet to adjudicate.
Molaim an Bille seo go láidir don Dáil ar son síochána, ar son forburtha agus ar son iascaireachta sa tír.
