Clare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party)
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To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if he will introduce a system for investigating the deaths of seals, dolphins and porpoises. [10857/13]

Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael)
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Seals, dolphins and porpoises are protected under the Wildlife Acts. Special Areas of Conservation have been designated around our coasts for these species and a robust programme of scientific monitoring is in place, both for our seal species and for cetaceans. Furthermore, dolphins and porpoises have very strict protection under Article 12 of the EU Habitats Directive.

In recent months, officials of my Department have conducted wildlife law enforcement operations regarding dead seals on the Waterford and Wexford coasts. These cases were investigated and, following a necropsy examination in one case, foul play was not considered to be involved. Officials working in coastal areas will remain particularly vigilant during the seal breeding season and will continue to work closely with other law enforcement authorities in such situations.

Officials of my Department also work closely with the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group. This group operates a Cetacean Stranding Scheme, with funding from my Department, all around the Irish coastline. The scheme monitors the strandings of whales, dolphins and porpoises. While most mortality is due to natural causes, where strandings occur in unusual or suspicious circumstances my Department is in a position to carry out further investigations. For example, in response to the recent strandings of 15 common dolphins over a short period of time in Mayo, my Department organised for post mortems to be carried out on five of these animals. The final results of these tests are expected in March.