Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left)
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145. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht her plans to change the approach her Department has made to the granting of licences to coursing clubs, in view of the growing concerns regarding the operation of these clubs. [5459/15]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The control of live hare coursing, including the operation of individual coursing meetings, is carried out under the Greyhound Industry Act 1958, which is the responsibility of the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine. Hare coursing is administered by the Irish Coursing Club, which is a body set up under the Greyhound Industry Act 1958. Licences were issued by my Department in August 2014 under the Wildlife Acts to the Irish Coursing Club, on behalf of their affiliated clubs, to facilitate the tagging and capturing of hares for the purpose of hare coursing for the 2014/15 coursing season.

Where resources allow, officials of the National Parks and Wildlife Service of my Department attend coursing meetings, on a spot-check basis, to monitor compliance with conditions on the licences. My Department will review the operation of the 2014/15 coursing season following the end of the season. This review will take account of the inspections undertaken by National Parks and Wildlife Service officials at coursing meetings during the season. Any issues that may arise from these inspections will be pursued with both the Irish Coursing Club and the individual coursing clubs in question.

In addition, veterinary staff from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine carry out some monitoring inspections during the coursing season to verify compliance with the rules governing animal welfare. The Irish Coursing Club also ensures that a veterinary surgeon and a control steward are present at all coursing meetings. As a further control, a Monitoring Committee on Coursing, comprised of officials from my Department, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the Irish Coursing Club, continue to monitor developments in coursing.

In that regard, the situation is kept under constant review to ensure that coursing is run in a well-controlled and responsible manner, in compliance with the relevant licensing conditions.