The seal is a protected species under the Wildlife Act, 1976, and cannot be hunted, killed or injured other than under licence. Any complaints received about interference with seals or unauthorised shootings are investigated by conservation rangers employed by Dúchas, the heritage service. The Wildlife (Amendment) Act, 2000, enhances the level of protection for seals and other protected species in that it provides for the protection of the resting places of these animals in addition to the breeding places, which are protected under the Wildlife Act, 1976. Section 42 of the Wildlife Act, 1976, provides that where damage is being caused by a protected wild animal, in this case seals, to a fishery, the Minister may cause such steps to be taken, by an authorised person, to stop the damage. Permission issued under section 42 provides for the shooting of seals at nets that are subject to damage and each specific application is considered on its merits. Ten licences under section 42 were issued last year in respect of seals.
I am aware that Ireland is the only coastal EU country without a seal sanctuary. My Department has received a number of applications for funding for an Irish Seal Sanctuary, as referred to by the Deputy. I met representatives of the Irish Seal Sanctuary, at their request, to discuss their future plans, and officials from my Department later examined their draft development plan. The Irish Seal Sanctuary has made many approaches for aid in the past in running its existing facility at Garristown, but the fact remains that the proposed new sanctuary is a rehabilitation facility catering to a relatively small number of injured seals rather than contributing to the overall conservation of the species which is my concern. I have made it clear on previous occasions in this House that my responsibility, under the wildlife Acts, is to protect seals and other mammals to ensure the conservation of the species as a whole. The work of the Irish Seal Sanctuary is primarily of a welfare nature and, as such, does not come within the remit of my Department. While I recognise the continuing excellence of the work done by the Irish Seal Sanctuary from a conservation point of view, such work does not impact significantly on overall seal numbers and would not warrant funding from my Department.
