Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)

The Leas-Cheann Comhairle was not here when my erstwhile colleagues were condemning all of this and seeking the banning of all and sundry. Thankfully, we did not, cannot and will not succumb to those demands.

Outstanding work is carried out in rural areas by local gun clubs and fishing clubs, the IFA and other farming organisations, and by farming families themselves. It is a joint effort. Just because one stag appeared in a school one day, which is obviously dangerous, we should not throw out the baby - indeed, the whole family - with the bath water. Instead, we must encourage and support these clubs in the valuable work they are doing. I made the same point to the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Phil Hogan, in recent debates on another issue. I probably should not mention that Minister's name in this debate. The animals would avoid him in any case, although it would be good to put him in there with them because it would stimulate the growth of bacteria better than any pureflow system or any other system that is being promoted. The people I am talking about work on the mountains with their bare hands, burning off gorse carefully and with the conscientious support of the Irish Wildlife Trust. They do more than anybody else to promote, stimulate, restock and protect their environment. We have seen the figures in regard to the value for tourism of one fish that is caught in Ireland. We are talking about sustainable communities. Farming was doing well this year until the inclement weather was sent by the man above. One would not wonder at the latter being confused by the messages he is getting from people who despite claiming to be hungry and badly off, do not want to allow us to partake in our recreational activities or to eat venison or whatever meat we prefer. It is not surprising that we are all confused.

The Minister, Deputy Jimmy Deenihan, did a walk recently in Tipperary where he enjoyed beautiful sunshine and the views from Aherlow. Perhaps he will consider coming down to visit the ABGN gun club and the other gun clubs in south Tipperary, all of which do outstanding work. They deserve accolades for their efforts in preserving their environment and teaching young people right from wrong when it comes to protecting the landscape and its inhabitants. I have a gun licence to shoot fowl but I never shot a hare in my life. I would not do so. However, crows and pigeons must be shot. Grey crows too will destroy a lamb flock if they get the chance. We must accept the realities and get real. Gun clubs, fishing clubs and angling clubs should be supported in continuing their important work. It is their members who have to deal with the damage done to the environment by municipal plants, some of which continue to malfunction even after millions are spent on their repair. When they emit foul odours and massive leakages into the rivers, it is the people I am talking about who report the matter to the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA staff member, unfortunately, may well do no more than telephone a contact in the local authority to say that the same fellow is complaining again and ask that the offender be spoken to, yet ordinary people will be hauled before the courts if they cannot afford to upgrade their septic tanks. Fishing clubs and gun clubs are doing a great deal to nurture the environment but they are not getting the support they deserve.

A comprehensive register of greyhound tracks is now in place, managed by the Irish Coursing Club. I am not sure whether it is independently monitored, but I assume it is. I ask my colleagues, Deputies Maureen O'Sullivan and Clare Daly, to come down to Clonmel and see the coursing for themselves. They should educate themselves on what goes on both on and off the track. We will go down to Annie Keogh's for our dinner and have a healthy chat about it. We must support all efforts to keep what we have in rural Ireland because we have so little.

This week, I have been listening to Cian McCormack's tremendous daily reports on "Morning Ireland" where he visits various towns in rural areas. Listeners to the programme hear about the enthusiasm, fight and stamina of business owners and ordinary people as they promote their towns and create new ways of getting people to spend in their communities. What better way to attract people to rural areas than to encourage coursing meetings, horse races and fishing? Unfortunately, in the case of my local angling club in Newcastle, wealthy entrepreneurs have bought up the fishing rights and local people are denied access to the river. While I do not like to describe him as "trigger-happy", our local ranger believes he is Kelly the boy from Killane. If a buachaill óg nó cailín óg fishes from the bridge in the village, which was mined during the troubles, the Garda is called to arrest him or her. I did not know it was illegal to fish from a bridge crossing the River Suir but the local ranger believes he can put anyone off it. What better pastime is available to young people than to learn how to fish? I am a bad hand at fishing, having failed to learn, but my son is learning to fish. In any case, it is almost impossible to fish this year with the floodwaters.

People wish to enjoy themselves within the law, promote our culture and heritage and avail of our natural resources which we have had since time immemorial. Long may we be allowed to engage sensibly in such activities. While some people will always engage in lamping or poaching, which are practices I do not condone, I support right-thinking people who want to promote and stimulate the activities I have described. Is it not better for a young boy or girl to be outside fishing or hunting than sitting at home every day in front of computer on Facebook, Google or whatever else? At least when they return to school after the summer, their teachers can ask them about flora, fauna and mother nature, about which I learned when I went coursing as a buachaill óg with the men of the parish. Coursing was good, healthy exercise and all I had was the butt of a stick to hit a ditch.

A previous speaker referred to the herding of hares. I herd in sheep with a sheepdog at weekends and others herd cattle, goats and even deer. How would we manage livestock if we were not able to herd them with the assistance of a dog? It was suggested we behave like fierce wild beasts as we jump down ditches with electronic weapons hunting unfortunate hares and herding them into corralled areas. Last year, I discussed coursing with an animal rights activist on my local radio station. Animal rights activists had cut nets and allowed hares to escape two nights before the Clonmel coursing event. The hares escaped over a fence and ran onto the M8 motorway where they were slaughtered. It is illogical for an activist to argue that this is more humane, normal and natural than hares being chased by a dog. When the activist in question was asked whether he had ever stepped on a snail or slug when walking on land, he could not answer the question. We must understand there is human and animal life.

Reference was made to a writer who referred to people in Soho. We saw how things can go badly wrong at a recent event in the Phoenix Park when there were few animals around. Those who attended the event would benefit from an understanding of nature, where we came from and how to behave. Farmers and others involved with wildlife treat animals with respect and are very strict in this regard. They give a good education to young people who join various clubs. In south County Tipperary they also promote tourism and business and help maintain a vibrant community. They are involved in many good projects, including some supported by the Tipperary Leader programme. Knockmealdown Active, for example, is a new organisation which does tremendous work to promote and enhance tourism, industry and business.

Money does not come from holes in walls, cheques in the post or social welfare offices but must be generated through farm production and other means. I have had many a good dinner from a rabbit I killed and skinned. I am sure the Leas-Cheann Comhairle hunted rabbits when he was young. This is healthy exercise. Legislation on the minimum working age and other baloney introduced in recent years prevents young people from working. We have changed for the worse in many respects. While many of the measures introduced were well-intentioned, unfortunately we are moving backwards. It is good for townspeople to spend time outdoors, helping farmers and learning about nature and for country people to give a hand in pubs and shops where they can learn to deal with customers and come to understand the value of commerce and trade. We need to be careful not to regulate everything or we may all end up stuck in armchairs in front of the television.

I ask the Minister to ensure the solemn promise to reintroduce stag hunting, which was made by some of his colleagues before the general election, is kept. I do not know anything about stag hunting, having never taken part in the pastime, but it used to be a valuable industry which had a number of spin-off activities. It is not an especially cruel activity and it continues to take place despite the ban.

The promotion of the Irish language was discussed earlier. As I have argued for years, if Irish were banned, everyone would speak it daily. We are banning too many things. It is often said that we are losing our sovereignty. We lost most of our sovereignty a long time ago and the laws being introduced are eroding it further. The Croppies must lie down and we must become beholden again to other people and agents, whether wildlife officials, fisheries officers or others.

See this speech in context