Joanna Tuffy (Dublin Mid West, Labour)

The Ward Union Hunt was established in 1854. It has been in existence for more than 100 years but the Minister is unilaterally getting rid of it. Prior to the renewed programme for Government, his approach was the same as the Labour Party's, that is, to try to make improvements through licensing conditions. At the very least, the Minister should have had stakeholder consultation and involvement in this process but he was not prepared to do that. If he had that process, he could have looked at the implications.

Other Governments have done things on a cross-party basis. They have studied the issue, looked at the economic impact and sent veterinarians to inspect the animals. They have tried to take a thoughtful approach but the Minister was not prepared to do that.

It basically goes back to the fact that the Green Party has very little to offer in Government. It has implemented few of the promises it made before the general election-----

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