John Ellis
Ceist:19 Mr. Ellis asked the Minister for the Marine if he will outline the development proposals of each regional fisheries board; and if he will make a statement on each set of proposals.
Ceisteanna — Questions. Oral Answers. - Fisheries Development.
Jim Higgins
Ceist:33 Mr. J. Higgins asked the Minister for the Marine if he is prepared to provide the necessary funding for the recent development plan entitled The Future of the River Moy Fisheries which was launched by him; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 19 and 33 together.
Each of the regional fisheries boards is at the request of the Minister preparing comprehensive development programmes. These programmes are at various stages of preparation. They will, in the first instance, be submitted to and assessed by the Central Fisheries Board which will forward a considered overall programme to the Department. At this stage, apart from the Moy plan, the information available to my Department is in outline form only.
As soon as the final details are received, they will be fully assessed to ascertain the extent to which the implementation of the plans would give rise to sustainable employment and economic growth and justify the public expenditure which has been sought. The Minister will seek Government and EC funding for any proposals, including the Moy plan, which are found to be justified in the light of the above considerations.