Shane McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I am delighted to get a chance to speak on this subject, which I honestly did not think would arise again. The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Gormley, and I had some heated debates about stag hunting two or three years ago. The Minister insisted that certain regulations be put into place. For example, it is now necessary for three officials from the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to monitor stag hunting. The Minister is aware that this system has worked well. Has he received any complaints about anything going wrong in this regard? While I accept that every party has its own programme for Government, I do not understand why the hunt is being targeted. Attempts are being made to ban a sporting activity that has contributed a great deal to this country.

The Ward Union Hunt has been in existence for 155 years, which makes it 30 years older than the GAA. People like Paul Carberry, Philip Carberry, Nina Carberry, Peter John Carberry, Ross Geraghty, Barry Geraghty, Robbie Power, Adrian Maguire and Norman Williamson, who are household names in this country, are among the progeny of the Ward Union Hunt. New names like Andrew Duff, Charles Greene, Keith Donohue, Megan Carberry and Donie Fahy are also among the progeny of the hunt, as are horse trainers like Noel Meade, Tommy Carberry, John Carr, Gordon Elliott, Tony Martin, Pat Rooney, Kieran Cromwell, James Halpin and Ronan O'Dwyer.

The Ward Union Hunt is the last stag hunt in the world. It is an iconic representation of rural life in Ireland. It has in excess of 200 members, more than 170 of whom ride out. Its premises, including its kennels, are regularly inspected by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, which ensures the health of the pack and the deer is maintained. An official report has confirmed that hunting does not affect the short-term or long-term health of mature male deer. The hunt provides an essential knackery service, including a collection facility for fallen stock, to local farmers. The knackery is licensed by the Department, which visits it every day. The Ward Union Hunt raises between €50,000 and €100,000 for charity every year, even in bad times. The hunt maintains a carefully monitored breeding programme to protect and preserve the Irish red deer. It has been suggested that the hunt should be allocated funding to preserve and guarantee this aspect of Ireland's heritage. It is estimated that the hunt contributes up to €1.6 million to the Exchequer every year. It costs the hunt approximately €6,700 per annum to keep a horse. That money is spent in the local area, benefitting vets, farriers, feed merchants and saddlers, etc. The hunt directly employs four full-time staff.

The Minister, Deputy Gormley, has made it a personal mission to target the Ward Union Hunt. In all his years in government, however, he has never taken the time to sit down with representatives of the hunt. Why is this the case? It is certainly not for the want of opportunity. Every rural Deputy in this House understands the importance of hunting and rural sports for local communities. Hunting is worth €111 million to the Exchequer every year. If it is not the case that the Minister is trying to rush an amendment through the House, why have the members of the Ward Union Hunt received a letter requesting a regulatory impact analysis? I suggest that has been done in advance of the introduction of legislation banning stag hunting. Why would the Minister ask for the opinion of the only remaining stag hunt in the world, when he has already guaranteed his party that a ban will happen? He has added insult to injury. The Minister's letter of last week asked for a reply by Friday, 13 December 2009, but there is no such date. Perhaps someone will rectify that.

The Minister seems to be obsessed with the plight of the red deer in Leinster, but why is the same courtesy not being afforded to the red deer in Connacht? Can the Minister confirm that a number of complaints have been received by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, to the effect that authorised officers from the Department are involved in the commercial exploitation of wildlife in the west? I have it on very good authority that red deer in Connacht are being hunted and shot for up to €5,000 per head. This is well known to the Minister and the proof of it is in his Department.

Why has a commencement date not been set for section 36 of the Wildlife Act during the past nine years? Such a commencement date would preclude any citizen from engaging in the commercial exploitation of wildlife without a licence, but a date has never been set. This means that anybody can host hunting parties for profit in Ireland.

With things the way they are, I do not know why the Minister is doing this. What he did two years ago has worked very well and he knows that, although I did not like it at the time. The Ward Union Hunt was the first to admit the new regulations put in place by the Minister and the people he appointed have worked very well.

As a Deputy, I will oppose this. It took the Labour Party in England 600 hours in the Houses of Parliament to get its anti-hunting ban through. It took it ten hours to get approval for the invasion of Afghanistan. If it takes 600 hours in this House, I will do everything to protect rural life in Ireland.

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. The renewed programme for Government includes a commitment to ban the practice of stag hunting. I should explain that under existing wildlife legislation I can, as Minister, issue a licence for the hunting of deer by a pack of hounds. As the Deputy is no doubt aware, there is now only one hunt club in the State which continues to hunt deer using a pack of hounds and horses. I have issued a licence to this hunt club to hunt deer with a pack of hounds for the 2009-2010 season which ends on 31 March 2010.

However, I continue to believe that this particular hunting practice should cease for animal welfare and public safety reasons. I believe a large proportion of the public consider such activity is no longer acceptable. The Deputy may recall an incident a few years ago when a deer pursued by a pack of hounds entered a school yard during the school day. I find an incident like this totally intolerable. Since then, there have been other public safety incidents involving deer in flight leaping through hedges onto public roads. Therefore, I recently obtained Government approval to the drafting of legislation to prohibit the hunting of deer by a pack of stag hounds. This legislation will not have any implications for other activities such as fox-hunting, hare coursing or the shooting of deer. This new legislation will also allow for regulations to control recreational activities, to address invasive species and to increase the penalties under the Wildlife Acts.

There is a need to regulate certain recreational activities in ecologically sensitive areas. This is in response to a judgment of the European Court of Justice which found that Ireland had failed to transpose adequately Article 6(2) of the habitats directive in the field of recreational activities. Certain, currently unregulated activities, such as the use of quad-bikes, scramblers or jet-skis in inappropriate locations, have resulted in serious ecological damage, including degradation and erosion of upland habitats and the destruction of the breeding sites of protected water birds. This problem must be urgently addressed if Ireland hopes to avoid further litigation at the European Court of Justice and the imposition of heavy fines.

I refer to what are termed "invasive alien species". These are plants and animals which, if released to the wild either by accident or on purpose, have the potential to cause substantial economic damage as well as damage the natural biodiversity of the country. Examples we all know include the grey squirrel, muntjac deer, zebra mussel and the African pondweed, which is choking Lough Corrib. Increased powers are required to enable us to take the necessary steps to regulate the import, sale and dispersal of these undesirable animal and plant invasive species and to take appropriate steps, if possible, to eradicate them or minimise the threat that they pose.

The legislation will increase the maximum fines that could be imposed on a person following a conviction for an offence under the Wildlife Act. The penalties were last increased in 2000. For example, the current maximum fine of £500 will be increased to €1,000 while the £50,000 will increase to €100,000. It is my intention to publish the legislation as soon as possible.