Michael Colreavy (Sligo-North Leitrim, Sinn Fein)

The purpose of the Bill is to amend the Wildlife (Amendment) Bill 2010 in order that holders of shotgun licences can continue to use their firearms during the open season. This is a practical, sensible step that maintains the current process of applying for a licence to hold a firearm and continues it into the future. According to the 2010 Act, the window for applications after 2009 is to be closed at the beginning of August 2012. This legislation removes that window and those in possession of firearms will simply comply with the general obligations on firearm owners in renewing licences, etc. This will allow hunters to continue hunting during the open season without having to renew their licences during that period. Proper controls and legislation for the possession of firearms are necessary as there are 233,120 registered firearms. Gun registration is rightly stringent in the State and we support the idea that this should continue to be the case.

When considering the subject of hunting game, it is important that the right balance is struck between conservation and hunting. It is also important to recognise that local gun clubs are often the greatest promoters of conservation and the successful management of wildlife and birds. This can be said about my local gun club, the Glenfarne Gun Club. In 2007 it developed the Boleybrack red grouse habitat management plan for the purposes of restoring the Irish red grouse population on the beautiful Boleybrack Mountain. I hope it will continue to be beautiful and that we will not allow the frackers in to destroy it. The plan is entering year five of implementation and its success would not have been possible without the support of the commonage owners and the local community of Glenfarne. All work on the project has been carried out on a voluntary basis by members of Glenfarne Gun Club with technical assistance and advice from the Golden Eagle Trust and the National Parks and Wildlife Service, NPWS. This is probably the first instance where a group of local people sought the assistance of the NPWS for a project. The project has been a resounding success and the way local farmers, the gun club and the NPWS work together is a joy to behold. The success of the project has raised awareness of the red grouse nationally and been a spur for the establishment of other similar projects elsewhere. During the summer, if the Minister is in County Leitrim, he should give me a call and I will take him to the beautiful Boleybrack Mountain to see the project. He will be very proud of what the NPWS is doing in co-operation with the local gun club and farmers. There is generally a distrust between the NPWS and farming communities. Most farmers claim that the NPWS is out to restrict their ability to develop their farms through the cutting back of the number of sheep and so forth. Recently, when speaking to a NPWS worker, he informed me the service would like it if there were more sheep on Boleybrack Mountain.

Red grouse are on the red list of birds of concern in terms of their conservation owing to a decline in their breeding range nationally of over 60% in 30 years. Of all the factors that influence their survival, the two most important are predator control and heather management. The legal control of predators such as the fox and grey crow can benefit both bird conservation and sheep farming. I, therefore, welcome the proposal to introduce a new wildlife Bill in 2014. There should be a wide discussion on how we can manage the conservation process and designate areas as special areas of conservation, SACs, and natural heritage areas, NHAs, coursing and wildlife issues. It would be useful to have a broad consultation process in the development of the new wildlife Bill, to which Sinn Féin would contribute positively.

It is often stated people do not trust politicians. Since I became a Member, it has been my experience that in many cases politicians do not trust people. In a democracy we must do so. When we do, they will do the right thing. We must, therefore, make it easy for them to do so. The project at Boleybrack Mountain, Glenfarne, County Leitrim shows that if one talks to local people to get their ideas and if they trust the agencies of the State to assist them in doing the right thing, we will all - the State, its citizens and wildlife - have a better future together. The lesson the project teaches us is that we must deal with matters in a particular way. We would do well if we were to adopt the approach taken there.

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