Seanad debates
Tuesday, 14 November 2023
Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters
Invasive Species Policy
1:00 pm
Paul Daly (Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Collins, and thank him for taking time out of his very busy schedule to deal with this issue on behalf of the Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Noonan.
As everybody may be aware, the mink, a member of the weasel family, is not natural to Ireland but was imported in the 1950s as part of a commercial fur production operation. Due to many escapees, and in instances where the commercial entity may not have been as successful as people thought, mink were sometimes deliberately released. They have now become a very invasive pest or species in the Irish countryside. By nature, mink is an aggressive, opportunistic and invasive predator with no natural predator of its own in the Irish landscape. Its population, therefore, is ever-growing. A mink will and can kill surplus to its food requirements.It is known that when mink go into the hen houses of domestic fowl, they do not just kill the hens they want to eat but they will kill all ten, 15 or 20 hens, fill their bellies and then they are gone. This is common, and not just with domestic fowl. They will also target any eggs, fish within our lakes and rivers and ground-nesting birds.
We have a situation in this country with, we will say, hen harriers and various species of eagle where much land has been designated. Many people have made many sacrifices and bought into projects where their lands and properties have been devalued by designation for the hen harrier, in particular, and for numerous different species. It is, therefore, a complete contradiction if some measure is not introduced to control the mink. There is no point in land being designated and people going to the ends of the earth to try to enhance, increase and improve species of wild bird if an opportunistic invasive predator is creating an imbalance within the numbers of that species and can undo all the good by a quick kill overnight.
It is estimated at the minute that the population of wild mink in Ireland could be north of 50,000 and it is ever-spreading and ever-increasing. The National Parks and Wildlife Service, NPWS, has responsibility for the implementation of domestic and European wildlife Acts. The programme for Government states that we will prohibit the spread of invasive species. A report is being compiled on it at the moment, but it is not happening. I would plead at this time in the interest of the fish population in many of our lakes and rivers, hares, young pheasants, water hens, curlews, corncrakes, black-headed gulls, hen harriers, snipe and all domestic fowl, all of which are rare species at the moment in Ireland. We hear conversations on a daily basis about how limited their numbers are in comparison with when we were all younger back in the day. There is no point in us making a concerted effort to try to reintroduce and protect these species if we are allowing another one to run wild and undo all that good work.
I look forward to the Minister of State's response. This is a major issue for our biodiversity in rural Ireland.
Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Senator Daly for raising this important issue. The 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 also provides for a range of concerted EU-wide measures to be taken with respect to listed species of Union concern, known as the Union list. 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 both nationally and on the list of invasive alien species of Union concern to manage, control and, where practicable, eradicate these species. Responsibility for dealing with invasive alien species rests with largely with landowners. Much of the work in tackling invasive alien species happens at local level and is carried out by local authorities in their areas through their own biodiversity action plans.
There is a range of ongoing efforts by NPWS to control mink in this country. These are primarily being managed by the service's regional staff and under a number of life projects, for example, for curlew and corncrake. These efforts are focused on the protection of rare ground-nesting birds and nest protection officers are in place across the country to control and remove mink where they catch them.
Additionally, the Department's local biodiversity action fund, which offers funding to help local authorities achieve actions identified by 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 have availed of this funding for 85 projects with a total amount of €1,123,605 being spent.These include projects to control such species as Japanese knotweed and the quaga mussel along with awareness and education projects on how to tackle invasive alien species. However, there is a need for greater co-ordination and coherence in the overall approach to invasive alien species. In this regard, a national invasive alien species management plan has been included in the programme for Government and has been prioritised by the Department. Co-ordinated by the National Parks and Wildlife Service, NPWS, this new national plan will act as an overarching framework for the implementation of policy and legislation around invasive alien species. The plan will set out actions to tackle invasive species and incorporate the range of monitoring and reporting activities already under way in accordance with the EU Regulation on Invasive Alien Species, IAS.
With specific regard to mink, funding was provided by NPWS in 2012 for a scheme administered by the National Association of Regional Game Councils, NARGC, for a bounty on mink as part of a wider effort to protect ground nesting birds in western counties. I understand that this scheme ran for three years until 2015, non-deterioration and is no longer in operation. As with any scheme that might be supported by grant aid its renewal and expansion would need to be discussed with the relevant parties and decisions taken in the context of the overall NPWS budget, priorities and work programmes.
Paul Daly (Fianna Fail)
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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.
Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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Invasive alien species are acknowledged as one of the five main drivers of biodiversity loss globally. It is vital that we continue to mobilise resources across sectors to tackle these species. While eradication of species is not always possible it is important that work is undertaken to manage and control invasive alien species is co-ordinated and effective to mitigate the threat posed to biodiversity. It will operate on a national scale with the involvement and co-operation of key stakeholders at local level will continue to be crucial for successful implementation. The plan will provide a useful shape and focus to the range of good work already being undertaken by NPWS and other Departments as well as by local authorities and stakeholders throughout the country. We hope to be in a position to provide positive updates on the development of the plan in the coming months as it moves closer to the public consultation phase.
Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)
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For our sixth Commencement matter, we welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Thomas Byrne, and thank the Minister of State, Deputy Collins, for his engagement over the last five debates.