Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I remind the Minister that there have been reports of breaches every year, not just this year. The clubs are assuring the Minister with their words but we shall see. We know about empty vessels making the most noise. They are giving the Minister these assurances but I am in no doubt there will be breaches this year.

Is it not somewhat perverse that the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht is licensing a so-called sport but which is deliberate animal cruelty? This cruelty begins from the time the hares are collected with the use of nets on various offshore islands and other places in the country and are brought into these coursing fields. There is documented evidence every year of the injuries and killings of hares in a most cruel way and reports of injuries to the greyhounds. The Minister stated in a media report that the persecution of wildlife is intolerable, but this is persecution of wildlife and I do not think it has any place in a Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, nor has it any place in a country that is supposed to value animal welfare.

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