I thank Deputy Murphy for bringing this Bill forward. It is important that we have a debate on these issues. It is an issue that needs further scrutiny and we need to look into it, but from a Sinn Féin perspective, we will not be supporting the proposal. While we recognise that there are of course always issues when it comes to sports of this nature where there can be abuse and animals can be the victims of cruelty and we need to ensure that does not happen, hare coursing is highly regulated. We recognise that as well. Those regulations are well-adhered to and people look after the animals very well. On keeping greyhounds, people mentioned it is not an urban-rural issue, and it certainly is not. There are many people in urban Ireland who keep greyhounds and have a huge interest in this area as well, but this is specifically about the coursing of the hare. I hear stories of hare coursing in my community going back many years where people have had an interest in this particular pursuit or whatever people want to call it. I do not particularly have an interest in it but there are many who do and are very aware that one has to be very careful to ensure the animal is not hurt on either side, whether it be the greyhounds or other dogs involved, or the hare. We also recognise - this is a big part of it for me - that when we ban something like this or have a situation where we try and stamp it out completely, it goes underground and would continue in a way that was not regulated with no vets involved and no assurance that there would be any sense of making provisions so that cruelty could not happen. Hares, when caught, might not be treated and released properly. These things would not come under regulation. That is one of the fears I have. In other jurisdictions where there are bans in place, there are huge problems with underground and illegal hunting and coursing. That is a big issue we also need to bear in mind. That said, the Minister of State mentioned it was 2013 when there was previously a substantive debate on this issue. It is time for the Minister and the Department to look at having a commission to look at this issue and examine how effective these regulations are, how well they are working, and whether there are issues which need to be dealt with, if improvements can be made, and if so, whether recommendations can be made. In the context of the debate we are having here, while I absolutely understand where this particular Bill is coming from, it is not appropriate at this point to do that without having a proper examination of the situation. The big danger is that if we ban something, we will drive it underground and make the situation far worse, both for the animals concerned, namely, the hares, but also for the greyhound industry as well. That would be a detrimental thing to happen. From that perspective we will not be supporting the Bill but we will encourage the Minister to consider putting a commission in place to examine it and have the relevant expertise in place to ensure that we can perhaps make changes to the regulations if necessary. I do not know whether they are necessary or not. I take on board that the issues that have been brought forward by Deputy Murphy and others need to be listened to. If there are people out there who have strong voices and opinions in this regard, we need to listen to them. I am sure also that on the other side of it we will have people who are engaged in these particular activities who will have equally strong views as to how well the regulations are working. It is probably time that we looked at having some kind of proper independent examination of how this is working, or not working, as the case may be. If changes or some level of improved regulations need to be put in place they should be considered. A ban is not the way forward to deal with this situation. In many of these situations, these things fade away in many areas. In some rural areas they were a big pursuit 30 years or 40 years ago and they are not any more. They still are in some areas of the country and in those areas we need to examine it and ensure that we have adequate regulations in place and that they are adhered to and properly enforced. We all have a responsibility to ensure that animal cruelty does not happen. At the same time, we also have a responsibility to ensure that we do not create situations that make animal cruelty worse. Bringing in a blanket ban of that nature could give rise to such a danger. That is why I would encourage the Minister of State to consider speaking to the senior Minister in respect of it, and that we would look at having a commission in place to examine this and to report back and to see if recommendations are required.

Sentiment score: 0.07