Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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283. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the contact her Department has had with the National Parks and Wildlife Service regarding the introduction of additional wildlife into the Wicklow National Park, in particular harrier hawks; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [53366/17]

Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) is a unit in the Heritage Division of my Department. Its remit includes the management of six national parks, one of which is Wicklow National Park.

The Harrier-hawk is a bird of prey native to sub-Saharan Africa. There are no plans to introduce this species to Wicklow National Park.

My Department is engaged in conservation efforts nationally to improve the status of the Hen Harrier, a bird of prey native to Ireland. The Hen Harrier nowadays occurs only sporadically in the Wicklow Mountains, but there are no plans to release additional birds into the National Park.

Another bird of prey, the red kite, had become extinct in Ireland, but has been successfully re-introduced into Ireland in Co. Wicklow (though not via the National Parks and Wildlife Service) by the Golden Eagle Trust.