Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left)
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20. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht her views in relation to whether she is concerned at the fact that National Parks and Wildlife Service officers only visited 17 out of the over 75 coursing events which were held during the 2014-2015 coursing season; her plans regarding same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23558/15]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Hare coursing is administered by the Irish Coursing Club, a body set up under the Greyhound Industry Act 1958, which is the responsibility of my colleague, the Minster for Agriculture, Food and the Marine. Under the terms of the Wildlife Acts, licences are required by the Irish Coursing Club on behalf of their affiliated clubs to facilitate the tagging and the capture of hares. Such licences are issued on an annual basis by my Department. Coursing meetings can only take place during the Open Season, between 26 September and 28 February of the following year.

Regional staff of the National Parks and Wildlife Service of my Department attend coursing meetings, as resources allow, to monitor compliance with the conditions of the licences. Such staff perform a wide variety of functions relating to management of National Parks, the conservation of habitats, the protection of protected species and the enforcement of legislation under national and EU law. Delivering on this work is particularly challenging at a time of constrained financial and staffing resources. Within this context, my Department prioritises its human resources to those areas of most critical demand.

Notwithstanding current staffing constraints, my Department’s officials monitored seventeen coursing meetings during the last season. Veterinary officials from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine also attend some coursing meetings.