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

That would be useful. The question arose from a freedom of information, FOI, request by the Irish Council against Blood Sports, ICABS, which was looking for the minutes of the monitoring committee, which it received in 2016 and 2017 but not in 2018. No independent animal welfare body is represented on the monitoring committee. At the 2017 meeting the CEO of the Irish Coursing Club, ICC, stated that "Coillte lands were largely free of predators and therefore have a thriving hare population." The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine agreed to contact officials in Coillte for permission for Coillte lands to be used by the ICC to capture hares but, thankfully, Coillte refused to allow this. Is it, therefore, appropriate for officials from the Department to intercede on behalf of hare coursers to net vulnerable hares for use as live lures are used for greyhounds? I believe the Department overstepped its remit by facilitating this request and this is why the FOI request was put in.

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