Vol. 442 No. 10
22 Mr. E. Kenny asked the Minister for the Marine the present position regarding contributions being made in respect of angling co-operatives; the level of funding collected to date by such contributions; the number of co-operatives established; the membership in each case; his views on whether the scheme is working satisfactorily; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
The income from the sale of Share Certificates and Corporate Membership since the inception of the Trout & Coarse Fisheries Development Societies was £95,029 in 1992 and £39,417 in 1993.
Sales figures in respect of the current year are not as yet available from the societies.
Exchequer funding to the societies was £103,809 in 1992 (which included start-up grants) and £39,417 in 1993 (i.e. matching the share income, pound for pound).
There are eight Trout & Coarse Fisheries Development Societies and each shareholder is a member of the society for the period to which his share certificate relates.
These societies are still at an early stage of development. While I am satisfied that the scheme is operating quite successfully a definitive assessment of their effectiveness in the long term would be premature.
