Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 10 February 2015
148. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht her plans to revise the Wildlife Acts with a view to enhancing protection of certain species and increasing penalties for any contraventions of the Act; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5529/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraI have a broad remit to protect Ireland’s natural heritage and am of the view that the resources available to my Department for that purpose should be focused on
- raising awareness and a common understanding of the richness of that heritage and the issues we face in protecting it; and
- securing compliance with EU Directives on nature conservation.
The Wildlife Acts, along with other nature conservation legislation in Ireland, particularly the European Communities (Birds and Natural Habitats) Regulations 2011, provide a suite of protective measures for Ireland’s biodiversity, habitats and species. The law provides for significant penalties for those that are found to breach those protective measures - for example, fines of up to €100,000 or imprisonment of up to two years can be imposed following convictions on indictment for cases involving the shooting of a Hen Harrier.
In that regard, I consider incidents such as the killing of rare and protected species, as we have seen in recent weeks, to be completely unacceptable. They are damaging to our wildlife, to our reputation, to tourism-related business, and to the image generally of Ireland’s healthy countryside.
I can assure the Deputy that the provisions of the Wildlife Acts are kept under continuous review and I remain open to introducing improvements to the law, where appropriate.
