Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I was out with a forester in Wicklow recently. He made the point that every forest in the county is moribund. One could not consider it to be growing but rather it is essentially in a state of death because of invasive species and deer. That is the number one challenge there. Obviously we do have some very important sites in Wicklow, including the Glen of the Downs in particular. It is known and recognised as a very important ancient woodland. It is great for the NPWS representatives to talk about their relationships with Coillte and how they are getting much stronger and how there are good working partnerships between them.

Would the NPWS consider a site such as the Glen of the Downs where the forest is managed by Coillte? The forest is primarily used for recreation but it is very close to the Glen of the Downs woodland. Is the NPWS open to working with Coillte on expansion? I want non-native species to be removed from the Coillte site and the site at the Glen of the Downs allowed to regenerate naturally across into the other site. Is the NPWS prepared to talk to Coillte about such a project? I have raised my proposal with Coillte to see if a partnership or strategic plan could be designed because the site presents a real opportunity for doing so.

It would be remiss of me not to talk about hares with the NPWS. I have worked on this since becoming a Deputy. I am concerned about wildlife management because there is an inherent contradiction in the Wildlife Act. On the one hand, a species can be protected while, on the other, the Act allows for the signing of licenses to allow the hunting of that species. When a licence is issued to a hare coursing entity, the licence says that a hare cannot be pregnant and coursed. How does the NPWS identify whether a hare is pregnant? How can a hare coursing entity adhere to the conditions attached to a licence and physically tell that a hare is pregnant?