Paul Daly (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his response. The kernel of the response was on what was in place before and has expired, and that was the bounty scheme. With the greatest respect to the NPWS and its implementation of the invasive species Acts, identifying areas, sometimes very small areas, where there may be a rare species and concentrating on that, does not or will not work. Mink can travel up to 30 km in a night or two. It needs to a national effort. I implore the Minister of State to go back to the Department and request that the bounty scheme be reintroduced. It worked in the areas where it was piloted. It needs to be monitored and controlled and only be available to licensed gun and hunting clubs. There needs to be terms and conditions therein but it needs to be on a national basis. The mink do not recognise boundaries or borders and will travel for food and for the kill. It, therefore, needs to be nationwide. We need to control this or we will be back here again, by which time the number will be north of 100,000 mink. If you corner a mink, he will face you. They do not back off. They have been known to kill very large animals and injure sick cows. They go for the jugular. It could become an even bigger issue, but it is a big issue at the moment. In the interests of biodiversity, where we are concentrating so much on the maintenance and rebuilding of our national biodiversity, it is a contradiction that we allow an invasive species to undo much of the good work that has been done.