John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)

That is exactly the way we want to approach this. We want to get through the legislation as quickly as possible.

Section 26(1) of the Wildlife Act allows the Minister to grant a licence to the master of a pack of stag hounds, authorising the hunting of deer by that pack. This section is being repealed. The reference to section 35 of the Wildlife (Amendment) Act 2000 relates to the repeal of section 26(1) of the Wildlife Act 1976 which allowed the Minister at the time to grant a licence to the master of a pack of stag hounds authorising the hunting of otters by that pack. Otters are protected by the Wildlife Act and the habitats directive and are considered a priority species. That is simply what this section is doing. It is absolutely crystal clear and there should be no argument about it.

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