Jimmy Deenihan
Question:4 Mr. Deenihan asked the Taoiseach if he has any plans to give the National Heritage Council statutory recognition.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - National Heritage Council.
Jimmy Deenihan
Question:5 Mr. Deenihan asked the Taoiseach if he has any plans to have the functions of the National Heritage Council extended to include the functions of the Wildlife Advisory Council.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 4 and 5 together. I refer the Deputy to my answer to Parliamentary Question No. 17 of 18 February 1992, when I said that the major issue in regard to the National Heritage Council is their future statutory status. My Department are in the process of preparing this legislation at the moment. It is the intention that the statutory heritage council will absorb the functions of the Wildlife Advisory Council. The functions of the present National Heritage Council already relate to flora and fauna.
I thank the Taoiseach for his very positive reply. In view of the present fragmentation, the fact that agencies such as the National Museum, the Department of Education and the Office of Public Works are responsible for heritage, is it not very important that one agency should deal with all matters relating to heritage? Were the National Heritage Council consulted in regard to the major forthcoming conference in Rio de Janeiro?
In response to the latter part of the Deputy's question, I am sure my Department would have consulted all the appropriate agencies, bodies and people in connection with the forthcoming conference. On the question of the number of agencies involved in heritage, it is widely welcomed that the functions of the Wildlife Advisory Council will be absorbed by the heritage council and this is a step in the right direction to achieve the objectives to which the Deputy referred.
Will the Taoiseach ensure that the necessary legislation is brought forward as soon as possible, as this is a very important matter? I ask the Taoiseach to give us a commitment to that effect.
The Deputy has my commitment on that. We are already seeking observations from other Departments in order to proceed with the legislation.
Will the Taoiseach give sympathetic consideration to including the National Association of Regional Games Councils in the National Heritage Council? They are a very reputable association with 840 branches and 21,000 members and their inclusion could do a great deal to ensure vigilance against the depredation of everything from a grasshopper to a blackbird by foreign hunters.
We will certainly look into the matters raised by the Deputy in that regard.
How do you shoot a grasshopper?