Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael)

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."

I am pleased to bring the Wildlife (Amendment) Bill 2012 before the House and will inform Members of the background to the Bill and the reason for this short item of legislation. As I informed the Seanad, where I introduced this Bill, the Wildlife (Amendment) Act 2010 includes provisions that deem all holders of valid firearm certificates issued for shotguns between 1 August 2009 and 31 July 31 2012 to be the holders of a hunting licence under the Wildlife Acts for the purposes of hunting game bird and hare species. This provision was introduced at the time to address an issue which arose following the introduction of a new computerised firearm licensing system by An Garda Síochána.

It was the case, prior to the enactment of the Wildlife (Amendment) Act 2010, that the Wildlife Acts required a hunter to have a licence to hunt certain game birds, such as pheasant and partridge, as well as hares. The Wildlife Acts provide that this would be obtained as an endorsement on the hunter's firearm certificate. Both the hunting licence and the firearm certificate were issued by An Garda Síochána in the form of a shotgun licence with the appropriate endorsement for hunting. However, new Garda Síochána computerised procedures introduced in 2009 for issuing three-year firearm certificates omitted the facility for issuing the endorsement as a wildlife hunting licence. At that time, it was not practicable to recall the new firearm certificates issued or to change the licensing process that was in train. Accordingly, provisions were included in the Wildlife (Amendment) Act 2010 to allow a hunter in possession of a firearm certificate to shoot game birds and hare species during the open seasons. These provisions will lapse on 31 July 2012.

Discussions have taken place between my Department, the Department of Justice and Equality and An Garda Síochána since the enactment of these provisions. These discussions considered the question of amending the firearm certificate application form and the certificate itself to accommodate the hunting endorsement. The outcome of these discussions, however, is that a suitable technical solution is not possible at reasonable cost in the short term. Therefore, I consider that the most viable option is to extend the existing arrangements, pending a more thorough review of the Wildlife Acts. I should point out to Members there is a commitment in the National Biodiversity Plan 2011-2016 to publish new consolidated wildlife legislation in 2014. I believe such consolidated legislation to be necessary, given the primary wildlife legislation is now almost 40 years old. The most appropriate context for the consideration of all issues surrounding wildlife, including hunting and hunting licences, is as part of this overall review. Accordingly, I consider that in the interim, the current arrangements should be continued and persons with a valid firearm certificate should be deemed to have a hunting licence under the Wildlife Acts beyond 31 July 2012.

This requires a short technical amendment to the Wildlife Acts, which is set out in section 1 of the Bill. Otherwise, if this is not done, hunters would be hunting unlawfully after 31 July 2012. I should point out this Bill does not give hunters any new privileges or unrestricted permission to hunt protected birds and hares on a year-round basis. The hunting season for game birds under the open season is restricted for most wildfowl to a period from 1 September to the end of January. In the case of popular game birds such as pheasant and partridge, the open season is shorter and extends from 1 November to the end of January. The open season for hares is from the end of September to the end of February. I acknowledge there are gun clubs in nearly every rural parish around the country. Many Members of this House are aware of the popularity of game shooting during the winter months and of the importance of this activity to the local economy. This Bill will allow hunters to continue their sporting activity in a legal manner without interruption during the open seasons. I commend the Bill to the House.

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