Inland Fisheries

254. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment if his officials will consider opening Lough Corrib SAC in 2027 for the harvesting of Atlantic salmon by rod and line angling; if his ‘catch and release’ proposal for 2026 results in a quantifiable growth in fish numbers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4200/26]

255. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the reasons for his failure to sign off the proposed Wild Salmon and Sea Trout Tagging Scheme (Amendment) Regulations for the 2026 salmon angling season, which would be a matter of course every December; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4201/26]

256. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment if he accepts that the continued enforcement of S.I. No. 741/2024 [Wild Salmon and Sea Trout Tagging Scheme (Amendment) Regulations 2024] into the 2026 salmon angling season is legally untenable considering that the appropriate assessment screening which underpins S.I. No. 741/2024 is not related to the generati…

338. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the reason Inland Fisheries Ireland has commenced selling 2026 salmon licences online and through distributors without providing anglers with the regulations booklet required under Section 69 of the Inland Fisheries Act 2010; and if he will confirm whether this constitutes administrative non compliance with statuto…

339. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the reason Inland Fisheries Ireland has described the 2026 salmon licence as permitting harvest only between 1 June and 31 August on open rivers, despite this restriction still being under consultation until 20 December and not yet signed off by him; and if he will direct IFI to cease including unapproved restricti…

340. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment if he accepts that selling licences without the regulations booklet, places anglers at risk of breaching rules they have not been provided with, while IFI itself fails to comply with its own statutory obligations; and the steps he will take to ensure anglers are not penalised for administrative failures by IFI; and…

341. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the oversight mechanisms his Department has in place to prevent Inland Fisheries Ireland from implementing regulatory changes before consultation has closed and before ministerial approval has been granted; and if he will commit to ensuring that licence sales continue only on the basis of existing approved regulati…

342. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment if he will acknowledge that Inland Fisheries Ireland's premature licence sales undermine the credibility of the ongoing consultation process on salmon regulations; and if he will extend the consultation period and require IFI to reissue licences only once the regulations have been lawfully approved and published; a…

343. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment to respond to matters raised in correspondence (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [74608/25]

297. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the total funding provided by his Department to Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) in 2025; the financial provision for IFI in 2026; the funding that will be provided for the maintenance of existing angling facilities and the construction of new ones; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [73777/25]

298. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the funding that will be provided to Inland Fisheries Ireland in 2026 for protection and conservation of lakes and rivers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [73778/25]

214. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment to provide further details on the updated scientific advice, which he received in November 2025, showing that Lough Corrib SAC salmon stocks will not have a sustainable surplus available for harvest in 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [72488/25]

215. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment if his Department will continue to validate the presence of invasive/non-native fish such as pike, roach and carp in the Corrib Catchment through conservation bye-laws considering his comments on 4 December 2025 regarding significant coarse fisheries within the catchment; and if he will make a statement on the m…

216. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment if the proposed Western Lakes Management Plan (WLMP) facilitates further promotion of coarse angling on Lough Corrib SAC and its catchment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [72490/25]

217. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment if his Department will be instigating any legislative or policy changes as a result of the public consultation that ended recently regarding the Conservation of Pike Bye-Law (No. 809) 2006 and the Conservation and Prohibition on Sale of Coarse Fish Bye-Law (No. 806) 2006; and if he will make a statement on the m…

218. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the number of departmental officials that have held the post of principal officer of the Inland Fisheries Division since 1 January 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [72495/25]

219. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the reason the Suir River in the Waterford fishery district will remain open for salmon angling in 2026 on a ‘catch and release’ basis considering that there is a known mortality with releasing fish alive after handling as per peer reviewed literature; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [72496/25]

99. Deputy Eoghan Kenny asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment if an external investigation into Inland Fisheries Ireland took place over the period 2021 to 2025; if so, when it concluded; the findings of the report; the actions that have taken place as a result of an investigation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [70841/25]

86. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment if he will acknowledge that salmon stocks have not recovered in the twenty years since the compulsory drift net buyout, despite assurances given to fishermen in Cong, County Mayo and nationally that rivers would become abundant with fish; if he will commission an independent review into the reason those promises hav…

87. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the reason that twenty years after the compulsory drift net buyout in Mayo and nationally, salmon stocks have not recovered to the levels promised by Inland Fisheries Ireland and Government scientific advisers at the time; and if he will account for the economic and social damage caused to fishing families and local…

492. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide an update on work being carried out by his Department in conjunction with Inland Fisheries Ireland and an organisation (details supplied) to improve the flow of the River Slaney at Clohamon, County Wexford and to assist the passage of fish, including salmon on the River Slaney; and if he will make a …

189. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the reasons for the inaction in publishing the Western Lakes Management Plan, considering that the plan has been proposed since September 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58950/25]

190. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment when he will fulfil the fundamental obligation in the 2025 Programme for Government vis-à-vis the recognition of the great western lakes, including Lough Corrib SAC in County Galway, as salmonid waters; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58951/25]

191. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the reason his Department attempted to take legislative control of stock management/invasive pike culls on the great western lakes during 2021, which is an operational matter for Inland Fisheries Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58952/25]

192. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment if it is the long term plan of his Departmental officials to introduce a national rod licence dressed up as mandatory angler registration charge for freshwater recreational angling; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58953/25]