2026-07-02

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." It is an honour to finally be moving this at Second Stage after the Animal Health and Welfare (Ban on Hare Coursing) Bill was first introduced in 2020. It has been a long road getting to this point. This section of the road will finish next Wednesday with a vote. I will start and finish with an appeal to the public to get on to their TDs and demand they reflect the big majority opinion in this country that we should take this opportunity to ban hare coursing. This road has been going on for a very long time. This is the third Private Members' Bill to attempt to ban the barbaric practice of hare coursing. Tony Gregory tried over 30 years ago. Maureen O'Sullivan introduced her Bill in 2015 at First Stage and it was voted on at Second Stage in 2016. Now, here we are again, ten years later in 2026 as one of only three European countries that still allow this annual torture of the hare to continue. In the last 15 years, more than 65,000 Irish hares have been captured from the wild and forced to participate in barbarism all because a relatively small number of people enjoy watching animals being absolutely terrorised and some want to make money through gambling on this torture. The Irish hare is a unique subspecies of mountain hare found only on the island of Ireland. We do not have many unique animals but the hare is one of them. Its cultural status was cemented for many decades on the old Irish three pence coin. It is iconic across Irish folklore where hares were often seen as spirits of the dead, leading to a taboo against eating them. We could do with renewing and broadening that ancient taboo by banning hare coursing too. We would not be here at this step of the road, debating this today, without the tireless and Trojan work of the Irish Council Against Blood Sports, the National Animal Rights Association and the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Some of their tireless activists are in the Visitors Gallery today. Countless dedicated individual activists have stuck with this day in, day out over many years. They are the best of humanity. They know what empathy is. Those who support this cruelty do not. In the last while we have seen Elon Musk, JD Vance, and other leading figures on the US far right denouncing empathy and declaring war on empathy. Musk has claimed that "the fundamental weakness of Western civilization is empathy" and suggested that there is an "empathy exploit". Others are going so far as to talk about the sin of empathy. The vast majority of ordinary people will rightly think that this is bananas, and that we have plenty of empathy because empathy is a fundamental part of what makes us human. It allows us to feel solidarity with other human beings, including people we do not know, who we have never met or do not look like us, and to empathise with animals, like the Irish hare. Empathy is our natural reaction when we see videos of greyhounds ten times the size and weight of hares smashing into terrified hares, throwing them up into the air, pinning them to the ground and hurting them. Instinctively, we feel for the hare. All of the waffle we have heard in the debates in the media and that we will presumably here today from the Government benches about rural pursuits is to try to cover up and suppress that instinctive human response. The Government and Sinn Féin TDs know that in their heart of hearts too. I know many of them would vote to ban this barbaric practice if they were not being whipped into voting for it to continue. We saw with Sinn Féin a few months ago on the issue of fox hunting that TDs were whipped to vote against a ban and then shortly afterwards, thankfully, the Sinn Féin Ard-Fheis voted in favour of a ban. I suspect the same breakdown of a vote at a Sinn Féin Ard-Fheis would happen now in a ban on hare coursing. Sinn Féin members would vote in support of a ban on hare coursing. There are very few people who would support fox hunting and oppose hare coursing or vice versa. If that is the position, and we will see what the position is, that is not a position that would please anybody. Sinn Féin needs to stand up and make the right decision, which is to ban hare coursing here, just as it is already banned in the North. There should be no more partitionism on this. Hare coursing in this country is a legacy of British colonialism introduced here by the British Army. To all those TDs who privately support a ban on hare coursing but will troop through the voting lobbies or, more likely, press the buttons at the seats to vote against a ban, all they really have is the coward's defence. They are just following orders. I hope that, at the very least, they will try to persuade their party leaderships that these orders go against public opinion and that a free vote should be granted. The public out there is overwhelmingly opposed to hare coursing in both rural and urban areas. There is not an urban-rural divide on this issue despite the attempts to turn it into some sort of culture war issue. In fact, the Red C opinion poll on hare coursing, which found that 77% of people were opposed to hare coursing, actually showed a slightly higher percentage of people in rural areas opposed to it than those urban areas. It was some 78% in rural compared with 76% in urban. Support for a ban in Munster, the supposed stronghold of hare coursing, was 77%, compared with 76% in Dublin. The Minister of State should not come out and tell me that rural people are the only ones who know about coursing and that they want it to continue, when the evidence suggests that, yes, they do know about it but precisely because of that, they want it to be stopped, because they have been more personally exposed and know the realities of the horrors of this so-called sport. The truth is, the vast majority of Irish people want hare coursing banned. Only 9% in the Red C opinion poll opposed a ban, or fewer than one in ten people. It has been banned in the North for over 20 years, since 2003, on conservation grounds as well as the appalling cruelty. The Assembly then voted to make the ban permanent in 2010. The National Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, NSPCA, supports a ban. The Irish Wildlife Trust supports a ban. The NSPCA is the foremost authority on animal welfare in this country and it should be listened to by the Government. The supporters of hare coursing may prove to be a majority in this House but they are a tiny minority of the population. It speaks to how out of touch this place is with public opinion. What is happening here is the same thing that has happened with fox hunting. A well-connected minority that wants bloodsports to continue, that enjoys making animals suffer and making money out of it, is the tail that is wagging the dog and the result is all sorts of spurious arguments that we will hear. One of those is that because coursing has gone on for a long time, it is somehow all right. The same was true of badger baiting, wild animals in circuses and fur farming, all of which have been rightly banned in this country. We do not have to accept a lazy appeal to tradition for one minute. It is worth noting, again from that Red C poll from 2019, that over 85% of over-65s supported a ban, higher than the average support for a ban of 75%. Any notion of a generational divide rooted in tradition is complete nonsense. Just because this cruelty has gone on for a long time does not make it right. In fact, it makes it all the more outrageous because it means the scale of the suffering caused to these beautiful animals over decades is truly enormous. Another baseless claim put out by the Irish Coursing Club and its supporters is that coursing areas have significantly higher hare populations than other areas and that this means, somehow, that coursing protects hares. The mechanism through which this causative link happens is not really explained but, somehow, capturing a load of hares from the wild, putting them into captivity and terrorising them is apparently good for hare conservation. The origin of this claim is a tiny sample of 135 hares taken in a small area of east Donegal way back in 2003, which was then compared with a sample of hares in another part of the country four years later in 2007, and then extrapolated to the whole country to say that hares are 18 times more common in coursing areas than non-coursing areas. To be blunt, this is junk science. Coursing advocates also claim that coursing does not really hurt because the greyhounds now wear muzzles. This is also fake news. First, there is the stress of being hunted with nets, captured and put into crates and held in captivity for months. Unlike rabbits, hares are solitary animals, so being kept in confinement with multiple other hares is extremely stressful and unnatural for them. During those months, they are trained, which causes them more stress and terror. Then, you have the coursing meeting itself. Two dogs race to see which is the fastest to turn, pin or catch the hare, within which more than 4% of hares are killed. Many more are seriously injured. If they survive all of that, they are much more likely to die after being released back into the wild than hares that have not been coursed. A study funded by the National Parks and Wildlife Service, although used by the supporters of hare coursing, followed up coursed and uncoursed hares. The bottom-line finding was that after six months, it could find only one out of 20 coursed hares alive, compared with eight out of 20 uncoursed hares. Even if you are one of those rare psychopaths like Elon Musk, who is devoid of human empathy and does not care about the suffering of other living creatures, it is possible, although perhaps unlikely, that you might still care about biodiversity and the survival of the ecosystems upon which we all depend to survive. That is unless you are Elon Musk and you are planning to head off to Mars. For anyone concerned about biodiversity, the impact of coursing on the Irish hare population-----

Deputy, can you refrain from describing people as psychopaths, le do thoil?

Even Elon Musk?

Even Elon Musk.

I cannot call Elon Musk a psychopath.

You can keep saying it over and over again but I have asked you not to.

If you cannot say that, what can you say?

I have asked you to keep in line with the Standing Orders.

Thank you. I will keep going. For anyone concerned about biodiversity, the impact of coursing on the Irish hare population should be a major concern. A National Parks and Wildlife Service study indicates an eight times lower survival rate for hares after they are released from coursing. That is a significant additional stressor on wild hare populations, which are already in decline, along with most of our other native species. Those involved in the practice of coursing and capturing the hares each year know that. Every year, they are capturing fewer and fewer hares to be terrorised. When I first introduced this Bill, I was talking about over 5,000 captured per year. Now it is over 3,000 captured per year. One report of a coursing meeting in Roseberry, County Kildare, in December 2024 said that only two hares ran, with hare stocks low that year. Data from the Irish Coursing Club show this steep decline in the number of captured hares. Ten years ago, 5,348 hares were caught, compared with 3,124 in 2025 and 2026, a fall of 41%. Coursing was first halted in the North in 2002 because of evidence that hare populations there had declined by 25%, yet here in the South, it is allowed to continue seemingly no matter what. Of course, there are lots of reasons hare numbers are falling. The intensification and industrialisation of agriculture has increased the use of heavy machinery that can kill and injure hares. There are also much greater numbers of dairy cattle in particular and a reduction in the natural variety of grasses for hares to eat, due to the limited varieties of grasses being sown to increase milk yields. On top of that, rabbit haemorrhagic disease, RHD, has ravaged rabbit and hare populations across Europe, with a new, more deadly strain, rabbit haemorrhagic disease variant two, RHD2, first detected in England and Wales in 2014. One would think that all of that might have prompted at least a temporary ban to protect this supposedly protected species. That is one of the ironic things about this - the law says that hares are a protected species but, in turn, it goes on to say that people can get a licence to capture and chase after them with big dogs. Of course, the gambling, coursing and greyhound industries took precedence. They will be the final nail in the coffin for many hares. I have heard today for the first time the claim that the industry is worth €70 million annually to the Irish economy. I am intrigued about that. This may come up in the debate, but I will ask it in advance. Where does that figure come from? I looked online but could not find any source for it. The greyhound industry is usually said to be worth €120 million, and there is creative accounting happening with that figure, too. I do not understand where this figure of €70 million comes from or what study is being referred to. I suspect there is more creative accountancy that takes no account of the damage caused to families and communities by the scourge of gambling and gambling addiction. I point out that the Bill is explicit in allowing lure coursing, which is where there is a mechanical hare, as happens in Australia. I will finish with two points. The first is an appeal to Members of this House to put pressure on their parties to fight for a free vote and, in any case, to vote with their conscience. They should not vote to allow this cruel practice to continue. Second, I appeal to those outside of this House, namely, the ordinary, decent people, both rural and urban, who oppose this practice. The vote will be next Wednesday. We have time to build more pressure on TDs and parties to take this opportunity to stop hare coursing.

I convey the apologies of the Minister, Deputy Heydon, who is unable to attend. I am taking the debate on behalf of the Government. I wish to clearly state at the outset that the area of animal welfare is of the utmost importance to me, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the Government as a whole. Our Department devotes considerable resources to protecting the well-being of animals and dealing with breaches of animal welfare legislation. The Government remains fully committed to promoting good practices that respect the welfare of all animals. The Government fully recognises the strong views on both sides of this debate and policy area, which have been the subject of extensive debate over the years. On behalf of the Government, I am opposing the Animal Health and Welfare (Ban on Hare Coursing) Bill 2020. I will now outline the reasons. During the passage of the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013, a detailed debate was held in this House on the issue of hare coursing. The Dáil voted overwhelmingly to allow the continuation of hare coursing in accordance with certain rules. The 2013 Act in particular states that the hare can only be coursed in a space from which it has a reasonable chance of escape. If a hare is chased in a space where it has no reasonable chance of escape, it violates section 12 of the Act and constitutes a criminal animal cruelty offence. Where a specific case of animal neglect or cruelty is identified, offences may be prosecuted under the 2013 Act. When the Act was enacted, it significantly increased the penalties. On summary conviction, this may include a class A fine of up to €5,000 and, in some instances, a class A fine and-or up to six months' imprisonment. On indictment, it may include a fine of up €250,000 and or imprisonment up to five years. I will now turn to the existing legislative and regulatory framework. Regulated muzzled coursing, operated chiefly by the Irish Coursing Club, exists under a significant and overlapping statutory framework that includes: the Wildlife Acts 1976 to 2018, the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013, the Wildlife (Wild Mammals) (Open Seasons) Order 2005, the Greyhound Industry Act 1958, and Irish Coursing Club rules, directives and guidance notes. Coursing licences carry 44 separate conditions overseen by the National Parks and Wildlife Service. Coursing meetings are supervised by the National Parks and Wildlife Service to ensure compliance with the 44 conditions associated with section 32 and 34 licenses issued by the Minister of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Browne. A panel of pre-coursing inspectors, selected for hare expertise, inspects every club in advance of a meeting and issues a certificate to course only where standards are met, with hares examined by a veterinary surgeon before, during and after every meeting. A monitoring committee on coursing is in place, comprising officials from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, the Irish Coursing Club and the National Parks and Wildlife Service, to monitor developments in coursing. In that regard, the situation is kept under constant review to ensure that coursing is run in a controlled manner. Hares are legally protected under the Wildlife Act. Catching and tagging of a hare requires strict adherence to conditions. It is illegal to catch and tag hares outside of the licensed coursing and tagging season. Additionally, hares cannot be caught using unapproved nets or within restricted areas. No hare must be coursed more than once on the day. Hares that appear sick, injured or pregnant while in captivity may not be coursed. With regard to the scientific evidence, a 2023 study commissioned by the National Parks and Wildlife Service on survival, movements, home ranges and dispersal of hares after coursing found no significant difference in observed mortality, movement patterns, home range sizes or dispersal distances between coursed and uncoursed hares released back into the wild. A separate population study found 18 times more hares in areas managed by coursing clubs than in the wider countryside, which is direct evidence that coursing clubs' habitat management has a measurably positive effect on hare populations. The current hare casualty rate at coursing meetings is below 0.5%, down from 15.8% prior to the introduction of muzzling in 1993. In the 2025-26 season, 99.38% of the 3,020 hares netted were released back into the countryside. The Irish hare is currently assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, IUCN, as being “of least concern”. The most recent EU habitats directive report in 2019 found the conservation status of the species to be favourable and stable, comparing favourably with the majority of the other 68 protected species assessed. I will comment on the economic and social contribution to rural Ireland. In 2022, an independent economic analysis estimated that coursing contributed approximately €70.7 million annually to the Irish economy, the vast majority of which directly benefited rural communities, with €37.9 million attributable to the life cycle of the coursing greyhound itself. The sector receives no State funding and is entirely self-resourced through club fundraising, membership and voluntary effort. Coursing provides a strong social function for rural communities, particularly for older members during winter months. A ban would remove this voluntary activity and community infrastructure without replacing it. Regulated coursing under the Irish Coursing Club has continued for over 100 years, with individual rural coursing clubs operating across generations and membership often passed down through families and communities for well over a century. Coursing provides a structured introduction to animal care and responsibility for young people. Training a coursing greyhound and looking after hares exposes young people to the practical realities of animal husbandry on a consistent and daily basis. We are opposing the Bill. We do not do government by referendum or opinion poll findings, as quoted by Deputy Murphy. We take a structured and regulated approach to this and other issues. While it is a minority pursuit, it does not mean it cannot continue. Under this Government, it will continue.

I thank the Minister of State. I call Deputy Aird.

I have listened with interest to the debate. I hear exactly what is being said but I stand here as a person who has a great interest in the hare. The hare has been a part of our heritage since long back, as both speakers said. The hare was on the old threepence coin. It can be seen in many pictures in many places throughout the island of Ireland. As a person who farms and likes land, and loves all kinds of animals in the wild, what I have observed with the hare is illegal hunting by people who have no concern for its preservation and are using new devices. A debate like today’s is one-sided against people - the only ones out there besides conscientious people - and I take umbrage when farmers are mentioned as sowing grass seed which is affecting the hare population. That is totally untrue. The eating of grass does not affect the hare and I can be a witness to that; I have seen it. With my leisurely pursuits whenever I get the time I love to be in the countryside. We fail to mention the natural habitats which are there for the hare, such as bogs where hares really thrive. Many is the time I stood to watch the hare. It is a beautiful animal to see running. There is nothing I see with the hare more than the pleasure of a hare when it sees a dog when people are out walking. If the dog pursues it, any owner who is ever in the countryside will see it has a natural route out of its habitat and what it will do is take the animal pursuing it - it does not have to be a dog, it could be a fox – around the place and exhaust it. The hare goes out to its natural footpath and then it will stand up on its hind legs and look back, as if to say “I have you finished", and off it will go. The animal pursuing it could be lying flat on the ground exhausted. I have seen that numerous times. The Deputy is laughing but I would like to know how many times he has been in the rural parts of Ireland - his rural pursuits - watching this. If it was not for the people looking after the hares there would be far fewer of them because of the illegal netting going on. They illegally pursue with specially-bred dogs which have speed and follow hares, sometimes under the cover of darkness. I have seen it. I have witnessed it. These are not people who look after the hare, who go out and make sure when nobody else is interested that illegal hunting is not taking place and report it to the gardaí when they do see it. Only recently there was a big article in the paper stating that fines are only €250. What deterrent is that for anybody who is going out intentionally to kill a beautiful animal like a hare? I would like the people putting this Bill forward to look at this issue. There is a preserved bird called the buzzard. I personally have nothing against the buzzard. It is lovely. For people who might not know it, it spreads its wings and you can hear it calling. However, I have witnessed on at least ten occasions the buzzard dropping down and picking up a little leveret, which is a young, small hare. It is able to catch it with its eyesight. No-one else could. A person could be walking beside a leveret and it will not move but the buzzard is able to catch it. It will swoop to the ground. I have seen it, it is awful. It picks the little leveret up, goes up like a rocket, and drops it. When the leveret goes down it is either stunned or dead. This happens in a couple of seconds. The buzzard picks it up and it is gone. I do not want to see that but I have seen it a few times. I would like those involved - and they do great work, those who list birds and animals which cannot be hunted so they do not become extinct – to look at the buzzard. While we want to preserve it and I want to preserve it - I do not know enough about the buzzard - it is wreaking havoc in the countryside on the small, young hare. That is all I can say. I have no problem saying I acknowledge the work those clubs do in preserving and watching the hare. They are watching because they know they are looking at an animal that is in this country for as long as we have existed. There are fewer of them, but why? I would like an answer. We can see that less than 1% is due to what is happening in the debate being presented here today. I ask somebody to please look into the overall picture and find out the real reason our hare population is going down. I acknowledge that is happening and I support all the studies which go into it. We find ourselves seeing fewer and fewer of the curlew, corncrake, and all of the other birds which at one time we saw frequently. We come along and ask if it is because we are building houses in rural areas. I saw a debate one night about that. It has nothing to do with that. We need to go back and see what the root problem is when animals like that go extinct. If we are going to have a debate we should not have one where the issue is being blamed on one particular set of people who, in my opinion, are looking after the hare. We should look at the wider picture and then come back to a debate when there is proof.

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.

Some 77% of Irish people favour a ban on hare coursing. The reason they want to see a ban on hare coursing is, simply put, that it is cruel. It is completely unnatural to pull a wild animal from their environment, to cage it for weeks and put it out in front of a greyhound and essentially let it run for its life. To do that and to call it a sport is probably one of the things that I have most difficulty with. We need to have a conversation about it. I have been listening to the debate. We need to have a conversation about natural, ecological processes in this House versus human intervention and using wild animals and being cruel to them for entertainment. The reason we have buzzards hunting hares is because they are meant to. They are part of the system. They are part of the food web. The buzzard plays an equally important role in that food web as the hare plays. We do not want, if at all possible, to interrupt that process. What is not part of the natural ecological process is for humans to go out and pluck these hares, which are solitary beings, and to cage them with a number of other hares in a completely unnatural environment and then to stress them by getting them chased by dogs and have them fear for their lives. Earlier on it sounded like Government TDs were saying that the hare actually enjoys this; this is what they were built for; they love it; they really enjoy going out onto the course and trying to avoid the dog. That is just a ridiculous concept. Of course they do not enjoy being chased and fearing that they are going to be eaten. In this House we need to really start thinking about what should happen naturally and what should not happen; what we accept as a country and what we are going to stand up and say we do not accept. We do not accept a situation where, for the entertainment of a very small minority of the population, we are going to allow this cruel activity to happen. It is unnatural and it is unnecessary. The sport can continue if we put in an alternative, such as the lure. If people want the greyhound industry to keep operating and people to be able to go down and enjoy seeing greyhounds chase something, let it chase the lure. Why does it need to be a live animal? How can anyone possibly get pleasure or entertainment from that? I had a quick look at the Facebook page of the Minister of State, Deputy Collins. I really appreciate that he was sharing posts about protecting our dogs in this heat and making sure they have enough water. Would he be happy if his family puppy or cat were being chased around by greyhounds so that other people could bet on them? These are living creatures. The Minister of State is laughing at me now.

I am not.

That is ultimately what it is about. As Deputy Paul Murphy said earlier-----

That is a nonsense comparison.

Why is it a nonsense comparison?

Just stay quiet and listen.

Why is it a nonsense comparison?

The Minister of State should allow the speaker to continue. There is no space for back and forth here. He should please allow the speaker to continue without interruption.

Through the Chair, it is a nonsense comparison.

This is what it comes down to - it comes down to empathy, as Deputy Murphy said earlier. It comes down to whether we can look at a wild creature and feel that we should not torture it or inflict any level of pain or stress where we can avoid it. I am not talking about hunting for food purposes or any of that. I am talking about hunting for sport. For creatures like the hare, I just do not understand how anyone can be happy that their entertainment is worth more than putting a creature like that through a level of pain. I do not think it is a ridiculous argument to compare it to a domestic animal. I really do not.

Well I do.

I know the Minister of State does.

The Deputy should be allowed to speak without interruption.

What it all comes down to is a level of empathy and what we consider to be acceptable in society and what we do not. I also want to respond to the argument about driving it underground if we do not allow it to continue. It is incredible, but in no other circumstances do we hear the argument that something is wrong but we are going to allow it to continue because if we do not, criminals will continue it any way. That is essentially what Deputy Kenny is saying. That makes absolutely no sense. If it is wrong, we deal with it; we ban it. We do not say we are not going to ban it because then we are just going to force it all underground. I completely agree with Deputy Aird. Illegal hunting is awful. Yes, we absolutely should deal with it, but let us deal with it. We do not say we are going to allow this to happen but this is awful activity on this side because it is illegal, while the legal activity is okay, because it is not. It is all cruel. He seems to enjoy his environment and appreciates looking at it but what is missing is the piece where he can connect with what an animal is feeling and whether we are inflicting pain or terror on the animal. As a nation I wish that we would start to put our principles at the forefront of what we do and ensure that we just do not tolerate any cruelty. That is what the public want. That is what voters want. I can never understand how issues like this, the fox-hunting Bill or the legislation on puppy farms get the support of the Government. It is not a rural-urban thing. There is a very small minority of people in this country who want those kinds of activities to be going on For some reason, the Government has their back and continues to fight for that small minority, when governments all over the world are recognising that this is not something that modern society should be involved in. The Government and, unfortunately, Sinn Féin in opposition are also supporting it. I honestly do not know who is in the Government's ear or how their lobbying is so strong that it continues to defend the indefensible when it comes to animal cruelty. I really hope that over the next week every person out there, the 77% of the population of the Republic who oppose this, writes to their TDs and expresses their voice on this. What we need is for that voice to be heard in this Chamber, and not the voices of the very small minority of people who are making money from this or gaining whatever benefit they gain - I do not understand it - and that it is not those people dictating what happens in this Chamber and dictating our legislation. The majority of people want to see reforms in this area and want a Government that has empathy and will not tolerate animal cruelty. I hope that those people make their voices heard and that the Government listens. I know there are some TDs in Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael who do not agree with hare coursing and I ask that they be given an opportunity to express their opinion, to represent their constituents and their values. It would be very unfair to expect someone to vote against this Bill when it goes against every grain of integrity or every principle they have when it comes to animal cruelty.

Is as an gcathair dom. Tá sé sin soiléir. Tráth dá raibh, áfach, bhí giorriacha in Dollymount Beach. When we look back at the hare and how it has evolved on our island since the Ice Age, with the retreat of the ice caps, giorria, fia, the small deer, it is intrinsically linked to our culture. The hare featured on our old currency. It is a beautiful animal but, sadly, there has not been any on Dollymount Beach in my constituency since 2017 or 2018, due to illegal lamping and the illegal use of vicious dogs. The two golf clubs on the island loved the hares, as opposed to the rabbits, because they did not burrow on the golf courses. I thank Deputy Paul Murphy. I fundamentally disagree with him a lot of the time but I do agree with him on this issue. I welcome the fact that he mentioned an Independent TD. It is good to see that he thinks some of them are good. Tony Gregory was a proud Dubliner, a man who raised this issue back before there was lobbying and an online world, and before the survey was done showing 77% oppose coursing. He also understood the power of being inside the tent, so I recommend that. He was also sadly defeated when he brought this issue up. Some 33 years on, we are still here. I thank Deputy Murphy for raising it, too. We hear Deputies from across the House say we should allow Teachtaí Dála to express their opinion on this matter, this barbaric killing of one of our beautiful native species. Thousands of wild hares are netted, I believe. Am I correct in saying it is 65,000?

Yes.

They are crowded together, bringing and spreading disease at a higher rate than they would naturally in the wild. They suffer broken legs and dislocated hips - some of the footage I have seen is quite gut-turning, to be honest. I am a man who has always loved my animals, from growing up. I cannot imagine that being done to one of my pets. This practice is cruelty with a licence. The species, the Irish hare, is one of the few mammals that is uniquely our own, as well as the red squirrel and other native species. It is woven into our culture. I would love to see the Irish hare back in the places in my constituency that it never should have disappeared from. It actually was reintroduced. I only found this out recently. It was reintroduced to Bull Island but, sadly, it was brought out again by illegal lamping. There is a real opportunity for that reintroduction to happen. For us in the constituency of Dublin Bay North to get out to Dollymount Beach, is tearmann agus éalú í ón saol gnóthach. Bíonn muid i gcónaí ag breathnú ar ár gcuid scáileán ar líne. Nuair a théann daoine amach chuig áit mar sin, áfach, feicfidh siad giorriacha, sionnaigh agus na hainmhithe nádúrtha ar fad. It is something that can get people out of their heads. I will continue to work with the Government to have the Irish hare reintroduced in my constituency. I spoke to my granny before she passed about being a young girl from the area, going down collecting bottles. That was back before we got rid of the bottle deposit scheme, although I know it is back now. She was collecting bottles with her family, and there were thousands of hares. There is not one now. It is very sad, and this is a UNESCO heritage site. I thank Deputy Paul Murphy for introducing this Bill, which I support. I am committed to the programme for Government and to financial matters but this is something that I fundamentally believe is wrong. None of this happens on its own. I thank all the campaigners, the National Animal Rights Association, the Irish Council Against Blood Sports and the ISPCA for everything they do. I thank the National Parks and Wildlife Service, everyone who has met and spoken to me, year after year and decade after decade, about a cause that should not have to be argued at all. In other European countries and in Australia we can see how people are changing their outdated laws. We need to protect our wildlife. I urge everyone, at home and in this House, to look at what once was and what we can still protect. We still have a lot of the great species on Dollymount but I look forward to bringing the Irish hare back. This barbaric practice is out of step with all of the EU countries and it is well past time it was ended.

I thank Deputy Murphy for bringing this Bill forward. It is so important. Hare coursing is called a blood sport. That is where we should start. In what world is that acceptable, a blood sport? Think of what that actually means. What previous contributors have said has really landed with me today. We need to look at anything that is called a blood sport and realise that maybe in 2026, we are a little bit outdated. We are constantly talking about improving the lives of animals in this country. I am a city TD, as everybody knows. However, I have very firm roots in the countryside. I have explained before my love of tractors and the countryside. I miss the time I spent as a child in the countryside. I caution that this should never be a divide. A conversation about this cannot be divided between city and country. We are all people. It is not a judgment on country by city or vice versa. We need to work together. In other countries where this used to happen, it has been banned. That is why we need to look at it now. Things evolve and it is an evolution of that. We cannot stay static just because it is tradition. I do not like that divide between city and country because it creates division, which is not helpful. As previous speakers have said, hares are recognised in Irish law as a protected wild species. It is beyond me as to why we would have a protected species and then round them up, keep them in captivity and put them out to be chased by dogs. It does not make any sense. We would not accept that for a horse, our pet or anything else, to round up something that is protected and then use this as a way of entertaining people. I was struck by the Minister of State's comment that things had changed and evolved in the Act of 2013. I think 13 years on we might change, evolve and move to banning it altogether. We have a biodiversity crisis. Native species like hares are vital to the continuation of biodiversity. We have to look at the climate crisis that we are in at the moment and see what we are doing to preserve our future. People might say that it is only a hare. This is a balance. It is a very fine line. Deputy Aird spoke so well about how there is that line of animals, where they fit in and how it is the natural part. As Deputy Whitmore said, when we come as humans and interrupt that balance, that is where the problem is. As others have said, a free vote is important on this issue. The reason for that is people need to vote with their conscience on this. I am sure others are getting emails about hare coursing and asking us to support Deputy Murphy's Bill. I ask that each party has a free vote and that we are able to vote with our conscience. I ask Deputies to think about it deeply. What does this mean? If we are not protecting an animal, which is a protected species, what does that say to us? If we were explaining this to a young child, how would we explain that? If we cannot explain laws in simple English like that to a child and it does not make sense, then it is not making sense and it needs to move on. If we were explaining to a young child that hares are protected but we are going to let them be captured, and we then run them around and get a dog to chase after them, but then hopefully they will know how to get out and off they go, and thank God the dogs have the muzzle because then the hares will not be mauled to death because we have evolved from 2013 and evolved to moving that on, that child would look at us and say, "What? That makes no sense." Again, when we are looking at how we treat things that are more vulnerable than us, we need to be able to stand over that. There is no standing over that. I do not wish to use all my time because I am probably saying stuff that other Deputies have said. I am conscious that it is a Thursday evening and people are busy. Ireland needs to show a little bit of leadership in animal welfare. I am sure that other Bills are going to come forward in the next little while about many different animals. This is something that other countries have banned. It used to happen in Australia. New Zealand, India, England, Scotland, Wales and the US used to all have hare coursing and they do not now. We should not have it either. We should follow the example of people who have evolved. We should move towards that. I would be concerned about it going underground and the illegal coursing that might happen but then let us make sure we have enforcement, and the gardaí making sure they are doing it and all the agencies are put there to make sure that it does not happen. If it is illegal it is illegal, but that does not mean we should not go after those people who are doing those illegal things. That is not a reason not to move on from 2013 to now in 2026 to banning hare coursing.

Enclosed hare coursing, like we have in Ireland, was banned in Britain in 1914. It was deemed unsporting. It is so contrived and unnatural. Those were the words that were used by the coursing clubs that agreed with it being banned. Ireland is becoming a complete and utter outlier on animal rights. I am embarrassed at some of the things that I am about to talk about here. If anybody is listening from any other country, it is the idea that some of these practices are continuing in 2026. We have seen other countries banning greyhound racing, such as Wales, Scotland and New Zealand. This is way worse. We had a debate on fox-hunting here a few months ago. In many ways, this is worse because it is taking a wild animal, capturing it, putting it in cages for weeks on end, making it do something completely unnatural and then it is allowing greyhounds in to chase after it in a very enclosed space, although I know there are escapes. I noticed that the Minister of State kept using the word "muzzled" in his answer. The hare does not know that the greyhound is muzzled. It does not make any difference. They are running for their lives in terror. They can still have damage done to them, including injuries and so on. The fact that the hare is protected but licences are given to capture it and treat it in this way is beyond belief. In 2019, a poll was done showing that 77% wanted a ban on hare coursing. The Minister of State said that we do not run the country by poll, apparently. I am in favour of minority rights, but the point of these polls is to show how unpopular these practices are and how out of touch this Government is in maintaining them. They are backward, medieval and barbaric. That is why people do not agree with them. Unlike foxes hares are protected, yet we are allowing them to be licensed to be captured. The Minister grants these licences to specific clubs; I understand there are 89. The NSPCA is the national body - a very respected authoritative body - in relation to animal welfare. This is what it had to say about hare coursing: it is a "cruel, outdated, and barbaric practice, which is currently permitted to satisfy just a small minority of Irish people." That is an official animal welfare organisation. Hares can be held for 12 weeks before being released to be chased by dogs. They are not on their own but are in with many other animals, which is against their nature. The NSPCA is supporting this Bill and asking TDs to be allowed to vote for this Bill. It is asking for a free vote. The Minister of State mentioned a couple of things. He said that it was so well-regulated and inspected that there was no difference in the outcome for coursed and uncoursed hares. I have a summary of the study that he referred to. There were 40 hares that were GPS tracked and, across all cohorts, nine out 40 animals were confirmed alive at six months and three confirmed dead. The remaining 28, or 70%, were lost to the study. Their fate was never determined. In other words, we cannot have a credible study with this lost 70%. The assumption by the National Parks and Wildlife Service, NPWS, is that they survived and went on their merry way. It is like saying that cancer patients could not be found and, therefore, they are all still alive. It just does not make any sense. On the outcome for coursed and uncoursed hares, one of the 20 coursed hares could be relocated alive six months after release compared with eight of 20 of uncoursed controlled hares. There was a massive difference in the outcome. I emphasise that this is cruel to dogs as well. It is linked with the greyhound industry. Often, dogs only last one or two seasons. The Minister of State is particularly affiliated and has a liking for this industry, but that is the reality. Greyhounds live a very short amount of time if they are raced in this way. I will mention the financial aspect. We are hearing incredible claims about millions being made from this. The Minister of State said there was a study in 2022, but he did not give any source. Maybe the Minister of State can give us the source for that. Unless he is talking about illegal gambling or something, there is no verification of €70 million anywhere. It is true that all these blood sports are linked with gambling, which is something that we should striving to eliminate completely in society and certainly not be encouraging. The damage that it does is untold. That is the only way in which it is being maintained. The Minister of State also said that it does not get any State funding. However, according to figures that I have seen, Greyhound Racing Ireland gives money to these coursing clubs. A total of €500,000 was given to the clubs between 2017 to 2022, which came largely from the Government funding that is voted in this Dáil every year. I will move on to the political aspect of this. We are calling for a free vote. Free votes have been given in the Dáil when it comes to women's bodies and women's health. If you like, they are given to things that are demonised. This should be demonised and I think there should be a free vote., Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have for far too long stood over these really bad animal rights practices. I cannot believe Sinn Féin is coming back again with exactly the same arguments recycled from a few months ago in relation to fox hunting. They are probably word for word: regulated, set up a commission, etc. This is completely out of touch with the population and its base. Sinn Féin had a debate on fox hunting and this is exactly the same. It is a blood sport and I do not understand how anyone would stand over it. It does not augur well for what Sinn Féin would do in government if it is not willing to move on these issues in opposition. In relation to some of the arguments made by Deputy Aird, I live in a place called Buzzardstown. A buzzard is a bird of prey. The Deputy stood over there telling us what a bird of prey does and I do not know what the linkage was with this issue. As has been said by other Deputies, it is constantly recited in here and happened with fox hunting, that when a fox does something that is completely natural to a fox, therefore foxes are bad. There is no justification for what was cited by the Deputy. I reiterate that this argument that it is regulated and there are more hares in areas where there is coursing and therefore we should keep hare coursing as to ban it would drive it underground is not an argument against changing a law to outlaw something. According to the Minister of State, there are loads of inspectors right now going around the coursing clubs, so those inspectors could look after the illegal, underground coursing. The reality is that a study done by The Journal found there were 200 coursing events and four inspectors between 2019 and 2024, so there is very little inspection taking place. I will finish by asking whether the Minister of State is in favour of cockfighting because, to me, it is exactly the same. It is unleashing two animals for one to damage the other for the entertainment of human beings. It is absolutely embarrassing that anybody would stand up in a parliament in this day and age and justify it but that seems to be what the Minister of State is doing. He spoke about nonsense arguments. I do not see any difference between a domestic pet and a wild animal. They all deserve to be protected. I do not see any difference at all; I do not think they should be treated differently. Maybe that is where we differ in that some animals are more important than others. There is this argument we should treat wild animals in a certain way and capture them for our entertainment. We have to lose these notions and actually decide that animals have their own integral rights to be on the planet without being used for our entertainment.

I am happy and pleased to support Deputy Murphy's Bill today on behalf of the Green Party. This is probably the fourth substantive debate we have had on animal welfare related issues during the term of this Dáil. We are discussing hare coursing today. We discussed fox hunting, puppy farms and greyhound racing. I recognise the work of those Deputies who have brought these issues forward as Private Members' Bills or motions. I welcome the focus during the term of the Dáil on these issues. It is indicative of the fact that people have moved past where the bigger parties are on issues of animal welfare. Unfortunately, for progress to be made and for laws to be changed, we need a majority across this House. In 2020, I was part of programme for Government negotiations on a wide range of issues. I remember being in the room when we debated issues of animal welfare and our party was not able to change the minds of the two other coalition parties at that time. We know from the speeches given today already, that when a vote is taken on Deputy Murphy's Bill, there is not a majority right now for this change and there is not a majority for some of the other changes that have been debated. It will be interesting when the Government's Bill on puppy farms comes forward. I welcome the fact the Government is advancing legislation on that but it is not strong enough and I hope we will be able to see the Government listen and be willing to make amendments to improve that legislation. The challenge here is that the larger parties in this House are not where the people are at. I welcome the recent decision of the membership of Sinn Féin to change party policy in respect of fox hunting. Muzzling of coursing greyhounds was introduced in 1993. It was brought in for the coursing meets themselves. It is not done for training, of course - there is no law around that - but I do not believe the introduction of muzzling justifies this blood sport. I do not believe you can muzzle cruelty. While the coursing itself may no longer result in a live hare being torn apart, we still have to consider the trauma a hare experiences in terms of its capture, a wild animal being held in captivity for a period of time, the trauma of release from captivity if it survives the coursing meet, but most significantly the trauma that comes from violent exposure to two far larger animals, even if they are muzzled, and all of the risks that creates. We know the Irish hare faces a variety of threats. It faces threats from hunting, probably most significantly from the destruction of a large amount of its habitat, from infectious diseases such as rabbit haemorrhagic disease and European brown hare syndrome, and it faces competition from other species as well. The Minister of State made a point about the risk, if Deputy Murphy's Bill is passed, that hare coursing will be driven underground.

I did not say that.

Apologies. I know the point has been made about the risk of hare coursing being driven underground. First, it is important to recognise that illegal hare coursing already takes place underground. It is probably the biggest cause of mortality among hares right now. I do not believe the existence, and continued existence, of an illegal practice justifies the continued State support for a practice that is currently legal. While it is important the State takes those steps to deal with illegal coursing as it happens at the moment, I do not believe that should be linked to the continuance of hare coursing in legal meets. I see hare coursing as an issue that is interconnected with the wider issue of the greyhound industry in this country. I have a real concern, from responses to multiple sets of parliamentary questions I have submitted to the Department and the greyhound racing board, about what the traceability system that has been put in place is actually showing us. It is worthwhile to talk about one year, 2021, when 11,600 greyhounds were born. Of those, only 450 are still actively racing, five years later. Of the rest, 1,500 have been rehomed, something I welcome, but 3,300 of those dogs born in 2021 are dead. These are dogs that did not get past their fifth birthdays. A further 5,300 have been exported to countries where we have no control over the animal welfare standards they face. Those dogs may have been re-exported subsequently as well. The State provides significant funding to this industry - €20 million of taxpayer's money every year. It is my view that funding should not be provided any more. I know in the previous Dáil, my colleague, former Deputy Neasa Hourigan, brought forward Private Members' legislation to decouple the funding of greyhound racing from the funding of the wider equine industry. Ultimately, the point we will be voting on is the specific issue of hare coursing. I and my party do not believe the trauma caused by this practice, even in the muzzled context, is justified. I think Ireland should adopt the change, the evolution in thinking on this matter, that has been seen in many other countries. The introduction of the muzzle in 1993 was a reflection of the fact that the Irish people no longer believed it was morally justifiable for a live hare to be torn apart at the end of a coursing. In terms of their opposition, the Irish people's views on hare coursing have changed, evolved and have become more trenchant. The vote on this matter will demonstrate a House that is out of step with where the Irish people stand. Unfortunately, Deputy Murphy's Bill will not pass Second Stage, but I do think this matter will come before the House again. We have not seen the end of it.

I absolutely respect everybody's opinion in relation to this or any other issue. People are perfectly entitled to take a position on this or any other issue, to articulate that position and to exercise their mandate to debate in these Houses, as am I doing as both a constituency TD and a Minister of State at the Department of agriculture. It is wrong, however, to try to misrepresent what I have said and the factual position in relation to how highly regulated the activity of coursing is. There was not one iota of acknowledgement on the part of any Opposition speaker in relation to the fact that there are 44 conditions attached to the licences that are issued to coursing clubs. There is a robust and thorough inspection regime before, during and after coursing events take place. Again, that was rubbished. There was also an attempt to demonise people who are involved in coursing and those who have a view in support of coursing. That is very regrettable. Yes, it is a minority pursuit. The fact that an opinion poll shows a particular point of view among people does not mean that the Government has to follow a course of action based on that view. As stated earlier, if were to follow the utterances of some people on the Irish political stage, everything would be the subject of a referendum. We would be having referendums on the triple lock and the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement. We would be having referendums every day of the week. People would probably want a referendum on this issue also. I have set out quite clearly why we are happy to support hare coursing. I know a lot of people who oppose it, and I respect their point of view. I do not have an issue with their point of view. Equally, I know a lot of people who are very involved in, supportive of and invested in coursing. I do not mean they are invested in a financial way. Again, there is an attempt to try to demonise people who are involved. I regret that, because they are very decent people. I know people right across my constituency and the entire country who are involved in coursing clubs. Coursing is an activity they engage in. It is very important to put on the record again that for people who are involved in coursing, animal welfare is their top priority. The supporters of this Bill to bring about a ban on hare coursing seek to try to dismiss that and to rubbish it. All I can say is that they are wrong. The people involved in coursing have to ensure that the highest standards of animal welfare apply to the greyhounds involved and that the hares associated with coursing are the subject of the highest standards of animal welfare. The latter is the case, particularly in the context of the input from the National Parks and Wildlife Service, its wildlife officers and the veterinary people who are associated with the regulation and inspection of coursing. I reiterate what I said at the outset. We are opposing the Bill. We do not do government by referendum, by opinion poll findings or by any such approach. We are taking a structured approach and a regulated approach to this matter. It is fair to say that coursing has evolved over the years. It has done so in a highly regulated and structured environment. It has moved with the times. While coursing is a minority pursuit, that does not mean that the Government cannot continue to support it. We are absolutely continuing to support it. Under this Government, there will not be any change in relation to that approach. There will not be a free vote either.

I thank all the Deputies who participated in the debate. I will start on the point about hare coursing being highly regulated, and that we do not give that more credit to that and to the idea that animal welfare is a top priority. Let us consider what hare coursing is in essence. You can regulate it all you like - and we are in favour of more regulation - but the essence of it involves going into the wild and capturing hares who are out there living their lives. They might sometimes be brutally short lives because of nature, which is fine, but they are out there living them. You go out, you make a lot of noise, you capture them in nets and you terrify them. You put them in little crates and then you put them in enclosures with a bunch of other hares. Then you allow dogs to chase after them. Some are injured and some are killed as a consequence. That is what hare coursing is. Unless you regulate the hares out of hare coursing, which is what our Bill proposes to do, then I do not see how the Minister of State can claim that animal welfare is a top priority. The Minister of State can make the case that he is concerned about animal welfare. If animal welfare really was a top priority, however, people would not be capturing hares from the wild and allowing dogs to run after them. Let us get real about what sort of regulation we are talking about and what hare coursing involves. I want to emphasise a point. I do not know if Deputy Aird really intended to suggest that the hares enjoy it, but that is what it sounded like. Obviously, they do not enjoy it. They are not running for the craic. They are running because they think these dogs are going to kill them. They do not volunteer to be captured. They try to get away. That is why nets have to be used to catch them. They are not happy to stay there. That is why they have to be in enclosures. It is very clear that if we could ask a hare about this, it would say "No. I really would prefer if you do not engage in setting dogs on me". This brings me to the point about nature being brutal and so on, which it often is, but the difference is that humanity has evolved. We are highly evolved. We have evolved to the point of having empathy with each other, and, hopefully, with other living creatures. That is why, on a philosophical level - and I recognise that there are people with different, genuinely held opinions - it is fundamentally cruel and wrong for us to put animals through difficult, damaging and sometimes deadly situations purely for our own entertainment. I believe this to be the view that is held by the majority of people in this country. That is why, philosophically, there is something fundamentally different with regard to engaging in and supporting the continuation of hare coursing and a hare being killed in the wild. It was also pointed out that you have to be very careful to make sure that the dogs and hares are not hurt. It was good that people referred to dogs being hurt, but hares are also hurt. One can go through the reports from the National Parks and Wildlife Service, and we can see how many letters I received just in respect of last season. I will go from A to Z. In Abbeydorney, four hares were hit by dogs and one was pinned to the ground. In Abbeyfeale, seven hares were hit and three were pinned. One of the pinned hares was not examined for injuries until the following day. In Ardpatrick and Kilfinnane, three hares were hit. A few days before the event there, individuals entered the hare park in an attempt to steal hares. In Balbriggan, at least one hare was hit and pinned to the ground. In Ballyduff, one hare was pinned to the ground and was examined for injuries. In Ballyheigue, four hares were caught and pinned to the ground by dogs. In Borrisoleigh, three hares suffered hits and three were pinned. One hare was found dead. In Cappoquin, six hares were hit by dogs and two were pinned. One hare died from its injuries. In Cashel, a hare suffered bruising after being pinned to the ground by a dog. In Castleisland and Millstreet, two hares were hit by dogs, and another hare was pinned with such force that an ear tag came off. In Cavan, Dungannon and Westport, five hares were hit and one was mauled into the ground. The hare that was mauled was found to have a graze on its back. In Charleville and Mallow, three hares were caught by dogs and pinned to the ground. The reality inherent in hare coursing is injuries to hares and some hares getting killed. I want to address the rural-urban divide. The Government does not have to rule by opinion poll and it does not have to go with what every opinion poll says, but we have an opinion poll says quite definitively that there is not an urban-rural divide on this issue. It says that people in rural areas are more opposed to hare coursing than people in urban areas. What is this all about suggesting that this is coming from a bunch of city slickers who do not what it is like to be in the countryside where a tiny minority of people engage in hare coursing? It is an attempt to defend the indefensible by creating a culture war barrier by saying that what is really going on is an attack on rural life. The vast majority of people in Dublin are not as separated from rural life as the Minister of State might think. Neither of my parents was born in Dublin. They came to Dublin and then they had children. I am a first-generation Dub. I spent plenty of time on farms in my childhood. I have plenty of connections to my cousins who continue to live in rural Ireland. Ireland is a small place. We are not so distant from each other. A related point is that unless someone has been to hare coursing, he or she does not really have a right to have an opinion about it. If we think about that logically, we do not apply that to other things in the world. We can know a lot about hare coursing by reading about it and watching videos of what happens on YouTube. People do not have to go and see it. I made this point on the radio earlier. I am opposed on principle to the death penalty. I have never watched an execution take place, but I know that humans killing other people with the death penalty is wrong. It is correct for people to not go to hare coursing because they do not agree with what goes on there and still have a right to have an opinion on it, including putting forward legislation to ban it. In relation to the arguments raised by Sinn Féin, the main argument seemed to be that it would drive it underground. That is interesting because it seems to accept that this is a bad thing and something that should not be happening, but that there could be more of it if it was driven underground. There is illegal hare coursing in Britain, but there is much less illegal hare coursing than there was legal coursing before, so we have some evidence of what happened. It seems unlikely that by criminalising something, we are going to create more of it. The point was also made that it would be a question of enforcement. As Deputy Coppinger pointed out, there was the call for a study and so on. The irony is that everybody knows that if there is a Sinn Féin Ard-Fheis in a few months and there is a vote on hare coursing, as there hopefully will be, and it changes its position and it supports a ban on hare coursing, all of the calls for this new independent study and so on will quickly be forgotten and its members will vote the correct way, if that happens, because the membership will push them to do it. It is really about finding justifications for not going in line with the party's membership, assuming that the vote on fox hunting and hare coursing would be very similar and not in line with the majority of Sinn Féin's voters and people who are looking to the left and who want a society based on human empathy and decency, which includes animal rights. I want to quickly address a few of the arguments that the Minister of State made. In terms of the 2023 study from the NPWS, Deputy Coppinger demolished the argument that it any way suggests that hare coursing is positive for hare populations. The reality is that only one of the coursed hares was found alive. A reference was also made to the study in Donegal from 2003, which was based on a tiny population group. I want to finish with a question for the Minister of State. The 2022 independent economic analysis that found that coursing benefits the economy by €70.7 million. I cannot find reference to it anywhere. There have been plenty of debates in the Dáil about hare coursing between 2022 and now and lots of parliamentary questions have been asked about what the economic benefit of hare coursing is. No one has ever referenced this study before. I heard it today from Deputy Peter "Chap" Cleere. It is obviously part of a speaking note and a briefing. I would like to see this study. I have Googled it, and I cannot find it whatsoever. I would genuinely be interested in this study being published and for it to be referenced. Finally, I want to encourage people to keep up the pressure, and I thank the campaigners in the Gallery. We have the benefit of almost having a full week between the debate and the vote to maximise pressure on TDs.

That concludes our debate for this evening. I thank everyone for their contributions.

In accordance with Standing Order 85(2), the division is postponed until the weekly division time on Wednesday, 8 July 2026.