Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is my understanding that some 27 coursing events out of some 60 meetings were monitored by officials of my Department during the 2017-18 season, which ended on 28 February this year, including trials. During the 2016-17 season, a total of 17 coursing events were monitored by my Department.

The regional staff of my Department's National Parks and Wildlife Service attend coursing meetings as resources allow to monitor compliance with the conditions of the licences. Such staff perform a wide variety of functions relating to management of national parks, the conservation of habitats, the protection of protected species and the enforcement of national and EU law. Delivering on this work is particularly challenging at a time of constrained financial and staffing resources, but within this context, my Department prioritises its human resources to areas of most critical demand.

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