Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Thursday, 11 Feb 1999

Vol. 500 No. 3

Written Answers. - Inland Fisheries.

Jim Higgins

Ceist:

12 Mr. Higgins (Mayo) asked the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources if he will make available the urgently needed funding for the continuation of development work on the Corrib system development plan, County Mayo, in order to enable the contract staff to be re-employed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1158/99]

Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources (Dr. Woods)

The Corrib system or "western lakes" development project has been receiving funding under the tourism angling measure, TAM, of the Operation Programme for Tourism since early 1995 with the import objective of rehabilitating the Corrib, Mask and Cara Lakes as prime brown trout fisheries for domestic and tourism angling. The amount of funds allocated for each of the years of the project is: £1,035 million in 1995, £0,220 million in 1997 and £0,800 million in 1998. This brings the total investment in the western lakes project to over £2 million and is nearly 12 per cent of the total funding available over the whole period under the tourism angling measure. As with all such projects, contract staff are employed on a project specific basis.

The objective of the TAM is to develop the national angling product to best international standards and significantly increase the number of tourist anglers visiting the country. Angling has tremendous benefits from the tourism perspective as a year round activity, often in non-traditional tourism locations, delivering significant local economic return as well as contributing to the tourism sector overall. The main flagship investments under this measure have been in the west.

I am advised that an application for a further £4 million funding, based on the surveys of rivers and streams carried out on the Corrib, Mask and Cara has been submitted to the TAM unit in the Central Fisheries Board.

The CFB advises that all available TAM funding under the tourism angling measure 1994-1999 has been committed at this stage. The extent to which the western lakes project and other additional applications might receive funding depends on the level of any funding decommitted before end 1999.