Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Anti-Austerity Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I meant half each which amounts to five minutes and five minutes. I thank the Ceann Comhairle.

I am pretty shocked by the response of the Government and the speech we have just heard. It was not the kind of balanced speech normally heard in the Chamber from the Government when it is defending something about which it feels shamefaced. What Deputies have just heard is an advert in our national Parliament for hare coursing, how great it is and how everybody should be involved in it. I am shocked that the Government has gone so far in defending hare coursing which is, I believe, an indefensible practice. It is an undeniably cruel and barbaric practice especially considering the fact that our near neighbours - Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England - have all moved to ban hare coursing. Ireland is one of three jurisdictions left that maintains it. To defend it and to advocate for it in such a positive fashion is shocking. I thank Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan for bringing the Bill forward. It is very good that we have it but obviously it is very disappointing that it looks like it may not pass. However, the Anti Austerity Alliance is very much in support of the Bill.

Deputies have already outlined how this is undoubtedly a cruel activity. The idea has been raised that this is part of nature. I do not understand how humans capturing hares, holding them in captivity, training them and releasing them to be chased by dogs is a natural activity. Undoubtedly, hares die in nature. That is a part of nature but humans intervene for their own amusement and profit and the result is, whether the Minister likes it or not, that killings and maulings of hares happen. Saying that killings or maulings are not the purpose of hare coursing is some sort of admission that killings or maulings would be a bad thing, but it is undeniable that killings and maulings happen as a result of hare coursing.

The Irish Council against Blood Sports’ coursing cruelty catalogue notes that in Tubbercurry last January 14 hares were hit, 12 were injured, six badly, one died of injuries and three more were put down. In Old Kilcullen in December 2015, seven hares were struck and three died of injuries; in Kerry, three hares were struck and two were put down; in Dundalk, three hares were struck and two died of injuries; in Macroom, six hares required assistance, a euphemism for being struck and mauled, and three were put down. The list goes on and on over pages. This happens and it is an unavoidable part of how hare coursing operates. Hares are going to be struck and mauled and it is an absolutely avoidable cruelty to animals. There is nothing natural about it.

This is an example of capitalism "red in tooth and claw" where animal welfare and wildlife conservation come a poor second place to profit. There is money to be made in hare coursing, including by big business. For example, BoyleSports sponsors hare coursing events and earns profits from gambling. Until recently, J. P. McManus sponsored hare coursing events. He withdrew his support because of the campaign work by organisations such as the Irish Council against Blood Sports, which has done sterling campaign work.

Hare coursing has a negative impact on this country’s wildlife. The Irish hare is one of our most longstanding native mammals, having survived the ice age, but there are now examples of local extinctions and a fragmented population across the country. The Irish hare as a species is under pressure from human activity, primarily farming, and the last thing it needs is to be captured and chased by greyhounds in enclosures for the enjoyment, dubious though it may be, and profit of a few. There is a relationship between hare coursing and the greyhound industry. People may be aware that controversy has boiled up recently about the scandalous practice of Irish greyhounds being exported to China. The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine has a duty to keep the House informed of developments in respect of that controversy. To that end, the Minister should confirm if an important meeting is to be held on 4 July, in London, I think, which will involve his Department, the Irish Greyhound Board, the Greyhound Board of Great Britain and some animal welfare groups to discuss the issue. The Minister should report to the House on the outcome of those discussions.

I thank the hundreds of people who e-mailed me and the other Anti-Austerity Alliance and People Before Profit Deputies, and presumably many other Deputies, on this matter. They gave us vital information and have shown that there is very vibrant campaigning on this issue. The political establishment is out of touch. A theme of the e-mails which is underlined by the debate this evening was people’s dismay at Sinn Féin’s action in not supporting this Bill. Sinn Féin had given the impression that it opposes blood sports but does not define hare coursing as a blood sport. It is difficult to see how blood sports can be defined when the fact that humans create a situation where hares are chased around by greyhounds does not qualify. We do not accept Sinn Féin’s argument that hare coursing must be maintained and regulated. The Irish Coursing Club does regulate the practice but that does not stop illegal coursing outside its remit. Even the events that fall within the regulations of the Irish Coursing Club involve the injury and death of hundreds of hares. It is absolutely unavoidable. I urge Sinn Féin to reconsider its position. I thank Deputy O’Sullivan for bringing this forward and congratulate all those who have campaigned on this issue over years and encourage them to keep it up. We will not win this vote on Thursday but ultimately if the campaign pressure is built we can win on this issue.

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