Vol. 525 No. 2
760 Mr. Yates asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage Gaeltacht and the Islands if her attention has been drawn to the severe financial plight of the Irish seal sanctuary in relation to its wildlife and conservation projects; if she will allocate funding to the organisation in view of the high cost of food for seals. [24196/00]
The Deputy will be aware that my responsibility under the Wildlife Act, 1976, is to protect seals and other mammals to ensure the conservation of the species as a whole. I have no statutory function in regard to the welfare of individual animals.
The activities of the Irish Seal Sanctuary involve the rehabilitation of individual seals. While I recognise the continuing excellence of the work carried out by the Irish Seal Sanctuary, from a conservation point of view the work does not impact significantly on overall seal numbers. The funding of food for seals or other animals is not a matter for my Department.
