Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail)
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I wish to raise an issue about protecting wildlife and keeping a natural balance in wildlife, including fish life, in rural Ireland. Last week, I met representatives of several clubs including fishing groups, angling groups and gun clubs. They are extremely concerned about mink. Mink is an invasive species that has no natural predator. It kills for fun and for sport. It is doing untold damage to other wildlife and fish life. In Lough Derg, for example, it is having an impact on tourism, as fish stocks are being seriously depleted by mink. It is the same for one species in particular, the waterhen. If you walk along any river now, you will not see a waterhen anywhere. They have been completely decimated by mink.

Several years ago, a bounty was introduced for mink. It is known as the fur bounty or the tail bounty. It was introduced at €3 per fur tail delivered. That needs to be revisited. I suggest a figure of €20 should be paid. That should be done through clubs interested in conservation and protecting the wildlife and fish life in these areas. It needs to be done on a national scale. There were pilot projects in the past, when one area was done. Unfortunately, while you might get mink out of an area for a few months, it will repopulate quickly. This really impacts the balance of wildlife and fish life in rural areas. It needs to be examined seriously. I urge the Minister of State to use his Department to put a reasonable bounty in place. As I said, I suggest €20.

That would finance the clubs interested in protecting these habitats and would be a win-win situation for all involved. If we do not address the mink issue, it will decimate all forms of species in rural Ireland. Hares and young pheasants are suffering as well. The list is endless. Mink has no prejudice as regards the young wildlife or fish it will kill.

The cormorant is a bird that was confined to coastal areas but due to depleted fish stocks around our coasts, it has started to come inland. This is having a huge impact, especially on the lakes. In Lough Derg, as the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, will be aware, being from Portumna, they are decimating fish stocks. It is necessary that a census be done of cormorants in these lake areas to see how out of balance this is and the impact it is having. A cormorant has the ability to eat a serious amount of fish, 4 kg to 5 kg per day. A number of these birds in an area where we want to protect our fishery stocks will have a huge impact. I urge the Minister of State to get his Department to do a census on the cormorant and find out how many are there. Then we can see how serious the problem is.

Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
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I thank the Deputy. I will outline the general issues around invasive species. What the Deputy has highlighted is a serious imbalance in nature in general across the country because of habitats, invasive species and other challenges. It is an important issue. Our Department's National Parks and Wildlife Service, NPWS, is responsible for the implementation of the Wildlife Acts and the European Communities (Birds and Natural Habitats) Regulations 2011, both of which prohibit the spreading of invasive species. In addition to this national legislation, EU Regulation No. 1143/2014 on invasive alien species provides for a range of concerted EU-wide measures to be taken with respect to listed species of Union concern. Together, these instruments make up the legislative framework for dealing with invasive alien species in Ireland. Public bodies, Departments and agencies throughout the country work within this framework, in the context of species listed nationally or on the list of invasive alien species of Union concern, to manage, control and, where practicable, eradicate these species.

Under this legislative framework, responsibility for dealing with invasive alien species rests largely with landowners. While my Department carries out important work to manage and control invasive species in its national parks and reserves, it does not have the resources at its disposal to undertake such work on a wider scale. Much of the work tackling invasive alien species happens at local level and is carried out by local authorities in their areas through their own biodiversity action plans.

Additionally, my Department's local biodiversity action fund, which offers funding to help local authorities achieve actions identified in the national biodiversity action plan, has been utilised consistently since its inception to aid in combating invasive alien species. Since 2019, 29 of 31 local authorities in the country have availed of this funding . These projects include the control of species such as Japanese knotweed and quagga mussel, along with awareness and education projects on how to tackle invasive alien species.

While excellent work is being done at local level, there is a need for greater co-ordination and coherence in the overall approach to this issue. In this regard, a national invasive alien species management plan was included in the programme for Government and has been prioritised in my Department. The plan is in its early draft stages and will operate on a national scale but the involvement and co-operation of key stakeholders at local level will continue to be crucial to its successful implementation. To this end, a steering committee has been convened to further the development of the plan and will hold its first meeting tomorrow, Wednesday, 8 March, in Dublin. It will be chaired by the NPWS.

The NPWS is also responsible for implementing the EU invasive alien species regulation in the national context. Under Article 13 of the EU regulation, Ireland identified and prioritized three priority pathways for the development of pathway action plans. The priority pathways are angling, recreational boating and watercraft, and soil and spoil. The angling and the recreational boating pathway action plans are five-year plans running from 2022 to 2027. The soil and spoil pathway action plan is still in draft. A full plan and synopsis brochure for these plans have been published on the National Biodiversity Data Centre website: Pathway Action Plans - Invasives.ie. These pathway action plans are aimed at preventing the introduction of invasive alien species and promoting and providing practical guidance on, among other things, protocols such as "Check, Clean, Dry" to mitigate the spread of invasive alien species through recreational water use.

The localised scheme the Deputy spoke about concerning mink was administered by the National Association of Regional Game Councils. I attended its annual meeting a number of weeks ago. The scheme commenced in 2012 and involved a bounty on mink as part of the wider effort to protect ground-nesting birds in western counties. I understand this scheme ran for three years until 2015 and is no longer in operation. As with any scheme, it might be supported by grant aid. Its renewal and expansion would need to be discussed. I commit to the Deputy that I will discuss this with staff. I will come back regarding the supplementary questions on cormorants.

Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State for his reply but I note the NPWS has been given significant extra funding. It is essential some of that is put towards a bounty on mink. We cannot let this predator continue to roam uncontrolled in rural areas and in the water. If it does, many species will become extinct. The Minister of State stated the NPWS “does not have the resources at its disposal to undertake such work on a wider scale”. I accept that but with a bounty, through the conservation clubs and fishing and angling clubs the workforce will be there to do this. They know the terrain and how to trap mink. They would be well able to do it and would do it efficiently. It would help our biodiversity challenges and is essential. These people are passionate about protecting habitats for wildlife, as well as waterway habitats. They are exasperated about the damage the mink is doing. When you sit down and talk to them, you see their passion to protect species like young pheasants, young hares and water hens. Their passion is unbelievable. No one can deny the mink is a predator. It should not be in our countryside. They were let go wild by commercial enterprises when there was no longer a profit to be made. They have to be controlled and, to put it mildly, exterminated.

I urge the Minister of State to do a census on the cormorant as quickly as possible. The damage they are doing to our fish stocks is immense. The people who know the waterways and lake shores say no fish will survive if cormorant numbers continue to grow at the current rate.

Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
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On the cormorant, we have a significant challenge in terms of data on many species, be they birds, plants or insects. Fishing and angling groups and gun clubs are on the ground day in and day out and they could be of use to us in gathering data on cormorant numbers. That would be most helpful. That is something we will give consideration to.

We have a huge challenge with invasive species. Deer numbers were raised here before and a significant cull will be required to manage deer numbers and bring them back to sustainable levels across our countryside. When we have an imbalance in nature and do not have connected or coherent habitats, we will always have a challenge with invasive species.

I agree wholeheartedly on mink. They are causing utter destruction of wildlife. We looked at the costing of a total eradication. Other countries have done it. It is very costly. Despite the increased resources we have received for the NPWS, we would not have the financial or human resources to do that at this stage. Ultimately, the objective would be to remove them from the countryside. I will go back to the Department and see if there is any way to revisit that pilot scheme, as a pilot or on a wider scale, and look at what the bounty might be.

I am not fully familiar with the scheme, because it was before my time. However, I will give a commitment that we will give consideration to the issue; see what the best way is to approach it and whether it could be revisited.

Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail)
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If we are serious about wildlife, surely, we have to get a budget to exterminate the mink.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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The point is made.