The National Association of Regional Game Councils (NARGC) is set to express its criticism of a lack of engagement with rural stakeholders when it attends a joint Oireachtas committee meeting today (Tuesday, March 3).

The group, which represents the game hunting community, will be represented at today's Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage by its vice chairperson John Butler, as well as other members.

The topic of the committee is the sustainable hunting of wild birds and rural pursuits.

In the NARGC's opening statement to the committee, which was seen by Agriland, Butler said that the association has, at the level of its member clubs, invested money in several types of conservation initiatives.

The NARGC said it has also contributed €25,000 to a project to rehabilitate bog in Finland and Scandinavia, which are breeding grounds for Ireland's migratory waterfowl.

"No other conservation organisation in Ireland engages in, or supports, this level of multi-national conservation," the statement says.

"Ireland can achieve so much more conservation results by working collaboratively and engaging constructively with rural stakeholders through the medium of a permanent forum for nature."

However, Butler said in the NARGC statement that, unlike in other EU member states, there is a "distinct lack of meaningful engagement" with rural stakeholders when it comes to wildlife policymaking in Ireland.

"There is no single, permanent overarching forum whereby rural stakeholders - not just game hunters, but also farming groups, rural sports groups, conservation groups, and environmental NGOs [non-government organisations] - can sit around the same table with the...government to discuss the national policy approach to conserving the nature, wildlife and habitats that make up Ireland’s countryside," he added.

The statement goes on to outline a number of failed attempts at engagement, with bodies being proposed or recommended, and then ultimately not being formed.

These include:

A 'Nature Advisory Committee', recommended in 2021, and which the NARGC said has not been established;
A 'stakeholder forum' with a proposed implementation deadline of September 2022, which the NARGC said was not met;
A "commitment" from the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) to set up a 'Countryside Forum for Nature' with an establishment deadline of the end of quarter two last year, which the NARGC said was not met.

The statement from Butler said: "There is a recurring pattern here. Commitments are made but not delivered on, and deadlines continue to slip. Unfortunately, it is rural stakeholders who bear the consequences.

Butler will use his statement to the committee to call on the government to express support for the establishment of a "Permanent Countryside Forum for Nature".

On a separate topic, the NARGC's representatives are going to tell the committee that Ireland needs more comprehensive data on bird species trends to inform decision-making.

"We believe the quantity and quality of data has serious gaps in it resulting in poor outcomes, and consequently we believe this has led to poor decision making," the statement said.

The NARGC said that it has offered to "help fill the gaps" and contribute to gathering the necessary data; however, the group said that this offer has not been taken up.

"In conclusion, a new approach of meaningful engagement between the NPWS and rural stakeholders is required, better data collection, and a new collaborative approach to the management of nature, its habitat, and all species living and frequenting here in Ireland, would contribute to ensure that the hunting of wild birds continues to be sustainable," the statement said.