Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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272. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the most recent study that has been carried out by his Department on the seal population in Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47819/21]

Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
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Both species of seal in Irish waters - the Harbour or Common Seal and the more numerous Grey Seal - are protected under the EU Habitats Directive and Ireland is obliged to maintain their populations at favourable conservation status.

We are also required to monitor these species and report to the European Commission on their conservation status. A standardised monitoring programme has been in place for both species since 2009.

Surveys of both seal species are carried out annually. The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) of my Department completed counts of harbour seals at haul out sites nationally in August and grey seal counts on Lambay Island are underway at present. These annual counts are combined and analysed every 5 years or so to produce national population estimates.

The most recent report on their conservation status and population estimates was submitted to the European Commission in April 2019 and is available on the NPWS website

(www.npws.ie/sites/default/files/publications/pdf/NPWS_2019_Vol3_Species_Article17.pdf).

Both species were assessed to be in favourable conservation status.