Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)

Fine Gael will be opposing this legislation. I know that does not cause the Minister any surprise, no more than it causes any surprise that he would bring forward narrow legislation at a time of serious economic and social problems in the country, but the zealousness with which he spoke and the commitment he has given towards this agenda surprises most people in the House.

We all have known for a long time that the Minister has a solid commitment towards the removal of animal field sports throughout the country. He and his party are on record banning live cattle exports, and he has been photographed on a number of occasions on protest marches in regard to those issues. It is not credible for the Minister to suggest this is not the thin end of the wedge in terms of many other field sports. His actions in the past confirm that he will not fool anybody when he states that this is not the thin end of the wedge and that he has another agenda that will continue into the future as long as he is Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government.

It is interesting that at the end of a very busy Dáil session, where €22 billion have been effectively thrown down the Suwannee by the Government in respect of baling out Anglo Irish Bank, we are discussing the priorities of the Green Party, which are the Wildlife (Amendment) Bill and the Dog Breeding Establishments Bill, and a directly elected mayor of Dublin, which the Minister promised for the end of the year but which we now know, although the Minister has yet to admit it, will not happen this year, despite him seeking to give the perception that it will happen.

The commitment to ban stag hunting in the revised programme for Government was not part of the original programme for Government in 2007. The Fianna Fáil Party, which was the major partner in Government, did not get a mandate from the people of this country to introduce this legislation. Six Members out of a total of 166 have decided that 154 years of countryside tradition in terms of the Ward Union Hunt should be put aside.

The worthless document that was a classic example of shameless spin to get over certain problems in the economy produced in the revised programme for Government in 2009 is now seen for what it is, namely, that the majority of the membership of the Green Party at those conferences were more interested in animal welfare issues being included in the revised programme for Government such as dog breeding and the Wildlife (Amendment) Bill, than they were in the serious issues of the National Asset Management Agency, the banking crisis and the fiscal and budgetary parameters for 2010. In a cynical manoeuvre the Minister got his party members on side for the purpose of other serious issues because he was able to get some commitments from Fianna Fáil in writing about matters relating to animal welfare. The soothing noises of the Minister, Deputy Dempsey, at the time, one of the key Fianna Fáil negotiators, that all would be fine on the day and that this will not happen in a hurry - he even suggested to some backbenchers that it might not happen at all - have been proven to be nought because of the Minister's zealousness and eagerness to ensure he and his members were able to get this legislation before the House today. The soothing noises of the Minister, Deputy Dempsey, to the Fianna Fáil backbenchers is now seen for what it is - it is not worth the paper on which it was written.

The commitment to ban stag hunting should be viewed in that light. It is an ideological political commitment that is important to a very small group of people but not important to the overall population because they are concerned with issues relating to the banking inquiry and the bankers' report. The are interested in issues relating to jobs and public expenditure matters for 2011. They are interested in the cover-up and the investigations in the Dublin Docklands Development Authority. They are interested in slashing allowances for the blind, people with disabilities and children. They are interested in the removal of medical cards from the elderly. They are interested in the Green Party voting in the Dáil to support the then Minister for Defence, Deputy Willie O'Dea, Deputy Ahern and Deputy Harney, when we know their hearts were not in it, to ensure their continued survival. They are interested in voting down all attempts for democratic consideration of three constituency by-elections, and they are overseeing a system of local government which is being strangled on a daily basis by the Minister in meeting the requirements and the remit in terms of various issues such as wasterwater and matters relating to waste.

Ultimately, the response of this country will be the taxpayer picking up the tab to meet European Union fines. Those are the issues that are of interest to the people, not interesting discussions of an ideological and zealous nature concerning the Ward Union Hunt. That is the record of the Green Party, and the people are beginning to see through that now.

My good friend, Deputy Sargent, and I had a little chat about this matter on national radio this morning and he introduced a new dimension, which is that it is a road safety issue.

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