Lynn Boylan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for her response. I share her concerns. I reiterate the message to people that poisoning is illegal but also that we are in a biodiversity crisis. It was declared a number of years ago and we have to protect as much of our wildlife as possible. There should be zero tolerance for anybody who is engaging in such activities. The figures for the pilot project which ran from 2013 to 2017 show how successful it was, with almost 1,000 tonnes of hazardous material being collected and 9,000 farmers engaging in the scheme. However, that was almost six years ago and it should be looked at again. Young farmers who have taken over farms may wish to participate in such an amnesty. The Department should consider rolling that out again. As I said, there must be zero tolerance for anyone deliberately carrying out wildlife crimes.