live hare coursing in Ireland

Paul Murphy TD’s bill to ban hare coursing is due to return to Dáil Éireann next month, six years after it was introduced.

The Animal Health & Welfare (Ban on Hare Coursing) Bill 2020, which aims to finally bring cruel hare coursing to an end in Ireland, will be back on 2nd July 2026 for Second Stage debate and vote.

The bill – which was co-signed by Richard Boyd Barrett TD and then TDs Gino Kenny, Mick Barry, Brid Smith, Joan Collins and Catherine Connolly – was first introduced on 16 September 2020.

At the time, Deputy Murphy condemned coursing as “a cruel, barbaric and outdated practice”.

“It has been banned across Britain and Northern Ireland and across the entire EU, apart from three countries, including Ireland,” he stated.