Susan O'Keeffe (Labour)

It is good to have the Minister back in the House. I am not sure I can extend my creativity, as other Senators have, to include William Butler Yeats, yet again. I do not believe beehives qualify under the Wildlife Act.

Like others, I welcome this Bill. I am not somebody who shoots, I am not a member of a gun club and I have never engaged in that activity, but I understand its importance in our traditions. Like Senator Ó Murchú, in particular, I look forward to when we can engage with new legislation in the wildlife area. It is particularly important, as Senator Quinn also stated, that we talk about it being sustainable. It is not simply about going out and hunting but about understanding our relationship with the countryside and the environment. The fact is we have lost some of our species but have done well in retaining many. Senator Ó Murchú mentioned the corncrake and the cuckoo. Where I live in the countryside we often hear the cuckoo and I note I always stop to ask the children if they can hear the cuckoo. It is part of the tradition we were handed down in that when we were children our parents would ask us if we had heard the corncrake or the cuckoo. It is a rather nice thing to do but of course it is more than that - it signifies the health of the countryside. The Minister, with this part of his ministerial hat on, knows this is something we must value and treasure even more into the future for our countryside not merely from a tourism or a visitor's point of view, but from our own point of view. If we encourage and support hunting we must do it in an appropriate way. Like others, I would welcome the opportunity to have a debate in this House, perhaps prior to that legislation being introduced. In that way, we might have researched properly and have thought about the items that should be part of that legislation in 2014.

Senator Ó Murchú spoke about the way children are today in schools. I was at the Leader partnership awards in Sligo last week and was very taken by a young man who has set up a small business called From the Farmyard to the Schoolyard. He is concentrating on farm animals, obviously, but it is a lovely simple idea. He did it in chalk on a blackboard and straightaway one was taken to the heart of what he is trying to do, to bring the countryside to the schoolyard. It has become increasingly hard for children to get out into the countryside and go on trips, to understand our countryside and wildlife. Those children, who the Senator described as "townies", sometimes do not get this opportunity, with health and safety regulations, insurance and all the factors that have made this activity more difficult. I was especially taken by the young man and wish him well with his business. He is right to try to connect those points. Children who understand and appreciate the countryside can uphold the hunting laws in an appropriate way, as Senator Quinn noted. Children who understand and appreciate the countryside can uphold the hunting laws in an appropriate way, as Senator Quinn noted, unlike other European countries where literally everything that moves is shot at. That is not the case in Ireland. If we are to have our hunting tradition, I hope and support that we would do it in an sustainable and appropriate manner. I welcome this amending legislation to ensure that those hunters who take part in hunting do so in a legal fashion. I look forward to a future debate which I am sure the Minister will be only too happy to facilitate.