Noel Grealish (Galway West, Independent)
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319. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if the regulations which he recently made to protect the basking shark cetorhinus maximus under Section 23(2)(a) of the Wildlife Act 1976, entitled the Wildlife Act 1976 (Protection of Wild Animals) Regulations 2022, can be policed and enforced by Inland Fisheries Ireland out to the 12-mile jurisdictional limit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49770/22]

Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
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I, along with my colleague, Minister McConalogue, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine recently signed the Wildlife Act 1976 (Protection of Wild Animals) Regulations 2022. The effect of these Regulations is to confer ‘protected wild animal’ status on the basking shark under section 23 of the Wildlife Act, 1976. This statutory instrument came into effect on Monday 3rd October, 2022.

Under section 72 of the Wildlife Act, 1976, as amended, enforcement powers rest with An Garda Síochána and authorised persons appointed by the Minister. Inland Fisheries Ireland is an agency under the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications and not my own Department.