Wildlife Protection

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 April 2022

Tuesday, 26 April 2022

Questions (637, 638, 639, 640)

Louise O'Reilly

Question:

637. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if assurances will be given that his Department and the National Parks and Wildlife Service species’ derogation considerations which are to inform any and all recommendations made by his Department and the National Parks and Wildlife Service to him for each species considered for control actions will have regard to all available evidence and will be subjected to the correct legal derogation decision threshold as specified in both a directive and the regulations (details supplied); if not, the other legal derogation decision threshold that will be used; and the full legal basis for same. [19960/22]

Louise O'Reilly

Question:

638. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will provide copies of all the objective evidence that informed the derogation recommendations made to him under the 1979 Birds Directive Article 9.1.a and S.I. No. 477/2011, European Communities (Birds and Natural Habitats) Regulations 2011 section 55.2.a; the reason for the acceptance of each species that was considered for control action; the evidence that was rejected pertaining to each case; and the reason for rejection of same in each case (details supplied). [19961/22]

Louise O'Reilly

Question:

639. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will provide copies of the evidence that underpinned the section 8 recommendation of the April 2020 First Interim Report by the Consultative Committee on urban gulls established by his predecessor in June 2019 to examine the impacts of urban gulls on communities and make recommendations (details supplied). [19962/22]

Louise O'Reilly

Question:

640. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if the two sets of expert legal advice that were obtained in August 2020 and February 2021 by his Department and the National Parks and Wildlife Service to provide expert legal advice to its Consultative Committee on urban gulls fully endorsed the committee’s recommendation in section 8 of the First Interim Report, April 2020 by the committee; if historical flaws in advice to Ministers have been fully addressed; if proportionate derogations as expertly advised for nest egg removals in the interests of public health and safety will be included in the 2022-2023 declarations in areas (details supplied) that are known to have rapidly escalating high-density breeding colonies of herring gulls. [19963/22]

Written answers

Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government

I propose to take Questions Nos. 637 to 640, inclusive, together.

Work on the upcoming Wild Bird Declarations is ongoing.  Minister O'Brien has extended the existing Wild Bird Declarations by a period of three months up to the end of July 2022. This will allow for the completion of the review of submissions received as part of the public consultation process, the receipt of legal advice and other internal discussions in relation to species included on the Declaration, including urban gulls.

Species are added to or removed from the derogations based on the best scientific data available at the time. As always, due regard will be given to all available evidence and the internal legal advice once it is received.

The first Interim Report of the Consultative Committee on Urban Gulls was written by the Chair of the Committee who circulated this to the Committee members and took their views on board when writing the recommendations. The copies of the two submissions made by the groups mentioned in Section 8 of the Interim Report can be made available to the Deputy.

Question No. 638 answered with Question No. 637.

Question No. 639 answered with Question No. 637.