Susan O'Keeffe (Labour)
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One matter will be taken immediately with the remaining three to be taken at 5.30 p.m. I call Senator Paul Coghlan who has five minutes and the Minister of State will have five minutes to reply.

Paul Coghlan (Fine Gael)
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I will hardly need five minutes.

Susan O'Keeffe (Labour)
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You have four minutes, Senator.

Paul Coghlan (Fine Gael)
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That is grand. I welcome to the House the Minister of State, a very able man from Donegal. I am delighted to hear the good news about Valentia and Malin, which is not related to this subject.

The office really condensed the matter I wished to raise. I have always been very concerned about the Kerry red deer. As conservationists in Kerry, we do not shoot them and do not want to see any of them shot. I recognise the national importance of this deer herd and I welcome the Minister's recent order taking female Kerry red deer off the open-season list. I acknowledge the work of the NPWS in general in regard to them. In particular, I applaud the NPWS in the south-west region on protecting the red deer in Kerry. I thank all the rangers for the work they do with their patrols, including their night-time work. I look forward to the Minister of State clarifying the situation with regard to the size of the herd. Not many years ago the herd was threatened with extinction, which is no longer the case, I believe, but I look forward to hearing from the Minister of State. We also need to protect the gene pool in case, God forbid, we ever had an outbreak of TB. The deer traverse the same land as cattle, badgers and so on, and, thanks be to God, there has not been an outbreak. In order to protect the gene pool in the past we had Kerry red deer in Letterfrack, Doneraile and on Inishvickillaun. I ask the Minister of State to comment on the protection of the gene pool. I look forward to hearing from the Minister of State.

Dinny McGinley (Donegal South West, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Senator for raising this matter. Deer in the wild are of interest to me because I live adjacent to a national park in County Donegal that has a very extensive herd of deer. While I am not sure of the species, we are very familiar with their presence.

Paul Coghlan (Fine Gael)
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They are first cousins and are Scottish bred.

Dinny McGinley (Donegal South West, Fine Gael)
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They were imported from Scotland as far as I know and would not have the direct line the Kerry deer are alleged to have going back.

Paul Coghlan (Fine Gael)
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There is no alleged about it.

Dinny McGinley (Donegal South West, Fine Gael)
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I withdraw the word - it has been proved. The Kerry red deer are a unique feature of our heritage. A recent report discovered that the Kerry red deer are the direct descendants of deer present in Ireland some 5,000 years ago. While the report concluded that these deer species were brought from Britain into the country, the authors of the report believe that the unique Kerry red deer population are worthy of special conservation status.

The fortunes of this unique species have fluctuated over the years. Prior to 2005 the hunting of Kerry red deer, both male and female, was prohibited. At that time, data indicated that there was an increase in the red deer population in Killarney National Park and in the surrounding area. As a result it was decided to allow the hunting of the Kerry female red deer during the open season in the period from November to February. However, the hunting of Kerry male red deer was still prohibited.

In the intervening years the monitoring data of the National Parks and Wildlife Service of my Department recorded a significant decline in red deer density in Killarney National Park. Therefore, in order to conserve the special lineage of red deer in Kerry, the Minister decided last month to prohibit the hunting of the Kerry female red deer. The effect of his decision is that it is now prohibited to hunt both the male and female Kerry red deer species. I am aware that most hunters support this measure given that some hunting organisations had already urged the Minister to take action to address the poor status of the Kerry red deer. My Department will be closely monitoring compliance with this prohibition.

There have been a number of recent incidents of illegal killing of red deer in Kerry. It saddens me to think that people would go to the trouble of illegally shooting these beautiful animals. I know that staff from the National Parks and Wildlife Service of my Department have carried out increased patrols in the county in recent months, including patrols at night, with a view to deterring the illegal shooting of deer. I would be hopeful that prosecutions will be brought against the people involved in this illegal activity. I also commend the various deer organisations, including the Wild Deer Association of Ireland, on their vigilance in reporting such incidents.

Within the boundaries of Killarney National Park, there are currently some 600 red deer which are of a healthy nature. I hope in the coming years that we will see an increase in the number of red deer in the national park, and in the county as a whole, following the decision to ban the hunting of the female red deer.

Paul Coghlan (Fine Gael)
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I am very grateful to the Minister of State for that. I notice that his reply did not contain anything about the gene pool, but we can follow that further. With regard to the illegal shooting of male Kerry red deer, I understand some trophy hunters are prepared to break the law. I again salute the work of the rangers, particularly in their night-time patrols. It is difficult to catch these people on the Kenmare Road because as the Minister of State knows, that main road from Killarney to Kenmare passes through the national park. The deer tend to come down and the lights seem to attract them. It is very sad that people do that and I hope they are prosecuted.

I very much welcome the order protecting the female red deer as well as the males. I hope to hear further about the protection of the gene pool. I am very satisfied with the answer the Minister of State has given.

Dinny McGinley (Donegal South West, Fine Gael)
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I appreciate the Senator's comments. Unfortunately the illegal hunting of deer - red deer or otherwise - is not confined to the Killarney National Park. It seems to be becoming - I will not say a pastime - but an activity in other parts of the country, including in my county. Coincidentally, a number of concerned citizens from my county want to meet me to discuss what can be done to prevent this happening in the area. People in Donegal have welcomed what the Minister did to protect the male and female deer in Kerry. If it is operating successfully in Kerry, they would like to see it employed in other parts of the country where this sort of activity takes place.