Steven Matthews (Wicklow, Green Party)
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145. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government his plans to introduce regulations to provide protection for the basking shark under the provisions of section 23 of the Wildlife Act 1976; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11574/22]

Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
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Work is underway to make Regulations under Section 23(2)(a) of the Wildlife Act 1976 to protect the Basking Shark (Cetorhinus maximus). As the Basking Shark is a species of fish, such Regulations may only be made with the concurrence and signature of the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine. As such, I wrote to Minister McConalogue on 9 February requesting his views on same.

An animal protected under Section 23 of the Act is conferred the status of a ‘protected wild animal’. It is an offence to:

- Hunt a protected wild animal (unless under permission or licence granted by me under the Act)

- Injure a protected wild animal (unless done while hunting in accordance with a licence or exemption cited above), or

- Willfully interfere with or destroy the breeding or resting places of a protected wild animal.

I hope to be in a position to progress this matter further very soon.