Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister's remarks about the new and revised conditions, but I do not know if in actual fact the situation she describes is truly exceptional. What safeguards are in place to ensure that hares are being rested sufficiently and what reports does the Minister have of hares allegedly being shared between courses due to shortages? I know for example that at least 36 hares died at coursing meetings in 2015-16. Some 26 died during the 2016-17 season and by the end of the 2017 a further 13 had also died.

The Minister told me that the cost of recruiting 25 additional conservation rangers for the National Parks and Wildlife Service would be less than €640,000. I welcome the fact that 11 rangers were appointed during 2017. Surely, the fact that just six hare coursing meetings were monitored during the 2014-15 season is unacceptable. I know that number rose to 17 meetings in the following year, and in the 2017-18 season 24 meetings had been monitored. Why can we not arrive at a situation where all meetings are monitored and where hares are treated humanely and protected?

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