Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for accepting this issue.

The people on whose behalf I am speaking tonight are the salt of the earth. They are predominantly rural people who adore the sport of coursing. Coursing is an integral part of what they are all about. It is part of our history and what we are. I believe passionately in this subject. It is so important to raise it with the Minister, Deputy Madigan. Of the 14 lagomorph carcases found, 13 of which reputedly tested positive for rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus 2,RHD2, how many were hares? If any was a hare, was it made available for independent testing? Has the National Parks and Wildlife Service, NPWS, mapped the spread of the disease from its original source? It seems ironic to me - I am not going into theories on what did or did not happen - that the disease is jumping not only from county to bordering county but from one end of the country to the other, from north, east, west and south. What is happening is very erratic. I have questions about that.

Why has the Department and the NPWS continuously refused offers of help from those best placed to monitor the overall situation? An example is our excellent Irish Coursing Club, which has an integral network of clubs throughout the country and is recognised worldwide as being a protector of the Irish hare.

I remind the Minister that a licence to net was granted on a Friday and revoked on a Saturday on the strength of a hare being found in Wexford. It was supposed to have been infected. How was it discovered, literally within a couple of hours and without due process and proper independent testing, that the hare was infected? All of a sudden, all hell broke lose. The licence was revoked and our coursing industry is now in dire jeopardy as a result. I am questioning everything that has happened. I want everything to be scrutinised because there is an awful lot riding on this.

See this speech in context