Violet-Anne Wynne (Clare, Sinn Fein)
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337. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the procedure for dealing with the issue of pine martens attacking animals on farms; the supports put in place to assist farms in cases in which they have an issue with pine martins; and the way in which a person (details supplied) and their neighbours will receive assistance. [21275/20]

Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
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Pine marten (Martes martes) are a protected species in Ireland and have recently undergone a natural range expansion after centuries of decline. A 2017 national population estimate of just over three thousand individuals (Irish Wildlife Manuals No. 97) confirms, and reinforces, that the native pine marten are amongst the rarest of all mammal species in Ireland and require careful conservation management to sustain the population and to meet international obligations for protection.

Pine marten continues to return following its previous decline across the island, and is now found in every county, having been recorded on six occasions in Co. Derry, where it were considered absent in 2012. The core range of the Pine Marten, which has been correlated to the demise of the Grey Squirrel, has expanded and now stretches through the west, the midlands, the southeast of Ireland and parts of Northern Ireland.

However, as a result of its historical decline during the last century, the species is protected under both national and international legislation: EU Habitats Directive [92/43/EEC] Annex V; Wildlife Act, 1976; Wildlife (Amendment) Act 2000.

Accordingly, unlike the fox, grey crow, grey squirrel, mink and rat, which are all common predators, the pine marten cannot be managed using the usual predator control methods.

The National Parks and Wildlife Service, in partnership with Vincent Wildlife Trust (Ireland), has setup a pine marten website (to provide information and advice for householders, journalists, gun clubs, foresters and farmers on their interactions with the species. The website draws on expert knowledge from poultry keepers, foresters, farmers, pest control experts, gun clubs, NPWS conservation rangers and academics.

As a last resort, where the issue with an individual animal is persistent, a licence to take appropriate steps may be applied for under Section 42 of the Wildlife Act.