Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal, Labour)
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610. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the legal purpose and public administration role particularly with regard to licensing controls on wild bird species of section 59 of the Wildlife Act 2000; and the circumstances in which he envisages availing of section 59 of the Act to preserve public health and safety. [39272/21]

Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
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The purpose of Section 59 of the Wildlife Act 2000 is to empower the Minister to authorise acts that are deemed to be necessary for the preservation of public health and safety even when such actions would ordinarily contravene legal provisions set out in Part II and Section 51 of the principal Act (Wildlife Act 1976). 

The circumstances where the Minister would envisage granting such licences would be where a real threat to public health and safety is confirmed and where the action(s) which the licence would authorise would be both necessary and proportionate to mitigate or eliminate that threat; and be compatible with Ireland’s obligations under EU and International Law.