  We investigate the possible influence of fluctuations in the metagalactic
photoionizing ultra-violet background (UVBG) on the clustering of
Ly$\alpha$-emitting galaxies through the modulation of the ionization level of
the gas surrounding the systems. At redshifts $z > 5$, even when assuming the
reionization of the intergalactic medium has completed, the fluctuations are
sufficiently large that they may non-negligibly enhance, and possibly even
dominate, the angular correlation function on scales up to a few hundred
arcsecs. Whilst a comparison with observations at $z \sim 5.7$ is statistically
consistent with no influence of UVBG fluctuations, allowing for the
fluctuations opens up the range of acceptable models to include those with
relatively low bias factors for the Ly$\alpha$-emitting galaxies. In this case,
the evolution in the bias factor of Ly$\alpha$-emitters over the approximate
redshift range $3 < z < 7$ corresponds to a nearly constant halo mass for
Ly$\alpha$-emitting galaxies of $\sim 10^{10.5}\,M_\odot$.
