Wildlife Management

Wildlife Protection

The Department/ Minister which administers the Wildlife Act is now the Department/Minister for the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport. It is the function of the Minister/Department to secure the conservation of wildlife and promote the conservation of biological diversity.

Wildlife means fauna and flora. “fauna” means all wild birds and all wild animals (both aquatic and terrestrial) and includes wild mammals, reptiles, amphibians and aquatic and non-aquatic invertebrate animals, and all such wild animals’ eggs, larvae, pupae or other immature stage and young.

“flora” means all plants (both aquatic and terrestrial) which occur in the wild (whether within or outside the State) and are not trees, shrubs or other plants being grown in the course of agriculture, aquaculture, forestry or horticulture and includes in particular lichens, mosses, liverworts, fungi, algae and vascular plants, namely flowering plants, conifers, ferns and fern-allied plants and any community of such plants;

Department Powers

The Department/ Minister has extensive powers for this purpose, including

• assisting or advising any other person or entity on matters affecting wildlife
• managing and supervising land on terms agreed upon with the owner or public land
• encouraging the management of features of the landscape which are of major importance for wild flora and fauna, including birds by virtue of their continuous and linear structures, such as canals and rivers, the bags are traditional systems for marking field boundaries or the functions a stepping stone such as ponds are small stones which are essential for the migration dispersal and genetic exchange of wild species.
• take the requisite measures to maintain the population of the species referred to in Article 1 of the Birds Directive at a level that corresponds in particular to ecological, scientific and cultural requirements while taking account of economic and recreational requirements or to adapt the population of these species to that level,

Diversity Measures

The Minister may take the requisite measures to preserve, maintain or re-establish a sufficient diversity and area of habitats by the preservation, maintenance and re-establishment of biotopes and habitats for all of the species of birds referred to in Article 1 of the Birds Directive, in particular, the following measures—

• the creation of European Sites, or
• the upkeep and management in accordance with the ecological needs of
• habitats inside and outside European Sites, or
• the re-establishment of destroyed biotopes, and
• the creation of biotopes.
• enter into, and carry out, an agreement with another person to participate in a scheme, undertaking or project for the conservation of wildlife and for the purposes of such scheme, undertaking or project to perform any one or more of the functions assigned to him under the Act,
• make grants or loans to further projects or activities which have as their object the conservation of wildlife generally, a particular aspect of such conservation or the development and proper use of hunting amenities and resources,
• promote, either directly or indirectly, whether alone or in conjunction with other persons, schemes or projects for the better conservation and use of wildlife or for the prevention, reduction or removal of any damage, or source of damage, to wildlife.

The Department may directly or in association with others carry out research as may be desirable and promote knowledge and understanding of the matters covered by the acts.

Other Departments

The wildlife legislation places obligations on other departments, local authorities, commissioners and other state bodies before deciding any matter which, in their opinion or in the opinion of other department authorities who represent accordingly, might be likely or liable to affect or interfere with the suitability for the future nature reserve or use of land to which an establishment order recognition order designation order applies or land managed under an agreement for the purposes of legislation. They must take all steps to avoid and minimise such interference this does not apply in the case of an emergency.

This obligation has been supplemented by modern EU-derived legislation that provides for consent requirements in relation to a range of matters which may impact the environment.

Public Use Regulations

Under the Wildlife Act, the Minister may make regulations permitting the public or a class of the public to use

• the foreshore or part of the property of the State,
• a land to which a designation order is made,
• land in which an establishment order is made,
• land other than foreshore forming part of the seabed under the territorial seas of the State.

Regulations may apply to all foreshore which is the property of the State, every refuge, and land reserve.

The Minister has extensive powers to acquire land under the Wildlife Act.  Common rights may be acquired.  There is a provision for payment of compensation.

The Fisheries Amendment Act 1997 establishes the Agriculture Licenses Appeals Board.  It performs appeal functions under the agriculture licence legislation in the 1997 Act.