Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I wish to raise an issue about protecting wildlife and keeping a natural balance in wildlife, including fish life, in rural Ireland. Last week, I met representatives of several clubs including fishing groups, angling groups and gun clubs. They are extremely concerned about mink. Mink is an invasive species that has no natural predator. It kills for fun and for sport. It is doing untold damage to other wildlife and fish life. In Lough Derg, for example, it is having an impact on tourism, as fish stocks are being seriously depleted by mink. It is the same for one species in particular, the waterhen. If you walk along any river now, you will not see a waterhen anywhere. They have been completely decimated by mink.

Several years ago, a bounty was introduced for mink. It is known as the fur bounty or the tail bounty. It was introduced at €3 per fur tail delivered. That needs to be revisited. I suggest a figure of €20 should be paid. That should be done through clubs interested in conservation and protecting the wildlife and fish life in these areas. It needs to be done on a national scale. There were pilot projects in the past, when one area was done. Unfortunately, while you might get mink out of an area for a few months, it will repopulate quickly. This really impacts the balance of wildlife and fish life in rural areas. It needs to be examined seriously. I urge the Minister of State to use his Department to put a reasonable bounty in place. As I said, I suggest €20.

That would finance the clubs interested in protecting these habitats and would be a win-win situation for all involved. If we do not address the mink issue, it will decimate all forms of species in rural Ireland. Hares and young pheasants are suffering as well. The list is endless. Mink has no prejudice as regards the young wildlife or fish it will kill.

The cormorant is a bird that was confined to coastal areas but due to depleted fish stocks around our coasts, it has started to come inland. This is having a huge impact, especially on the lakes. In Lough Derg, as the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, will be aware, being from Portumna, they are decimating fish stocks. It is necessary that a census be done of cormorants in these lake areas to see how out of balance this is and the impact it is having. A cormorant has the ability to eat a serious amount of fish, 4 kg to 5 kg per day. A number of these birds in an area where we want to protect our fishery stocks will have a huge impact. I urge the Minister of State to get his Department to do a census on the cormorant and find out how many are there. Then we can see how serious the problem is.

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