Eric Byrne (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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135. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the shooting licences available to persons to stalk deer in the Dublin/Wicklow mountains. [45323/13]

Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael)
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Annual licences to hunt deer are issued by my Department to individuals under the Wildlife Acts. The hunting season for deer is regulated by the Open Seasons Order, which prescribes the periods for the hunting of various deer species. These periods vary depending on the gender and age of the deer. My Department has issued some 4,200 deer hunting licences to date to individuals for the current hunting season, which commenced on 1 September 2013. On average, about 20% of deer hunting licences are granted to individuals in the counties of Dublin and Wicklow.

I should point out that individuals who have a deer hunting licence also require a Firearms Certificate issued by An Garda Síochána for the weapon used to hunt deer.