Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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Question 747: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if under the provisions of the Greyhound Industry Act, 1958, the regulation of coursing is chiefly a matter for the Irish Coursing Club subject to the general control and direction of Bord na gCon, which is the statutory body with responsibility for the improvement and development of the greyhound industry, greyhound racing and coursing. [26723/12]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Under the provisions of the Greyhound Industry Act, 1958 the regulation of coursing is chiefly a matter for the Irish Coursing Club (ICC) subject to the general control and direction of Bord na gCon, which is the statutory body with responsibility for the improvement and development of the greyhound industry, greyhound racing and coursing.

A Monitoring Committee on Coursing was established in 1993/94 comprising of officials from my Department and representatives from both the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) and the ICC to monitor developments in coursing and in that regard the situation is kept under constant review to ensure that coursing is run in a well controlled and responsible manner in the interest of animal welfare both for hares and greyhounds alike. The Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, under section 34 of the Wildlife Act 1976, has responsibility for the issue of an annual licence to the Irish Coursing Club, ICC, and its affiliated clubs to capture live hares.

Derek Nolan (Galway West, Labour)
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Question 748: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if the exemptions on fishing, hunting and hare coursing underlined in section 12(12) of the Animal Welfare Bill will be retained; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26765/12]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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It is my intention to maintain these exemptions and I do not intend to interfere with legitimate field sports which are carried out in a proper manner.