There is grave concern in my part of the world at the shooting down of Heather in the Waterville area prior to the weekend. This female hen harrier, as we know, was tagged with a satellite tracking device shortly after she hatched in 2013 in east Kerry. She quickly became a star as her travels were followed by thousands of people on an online blog. The hen harrier project has been run by the National Parks and Wildlife Service and a local community group, IRD Duhallow. As we know, the hen harrier is a protected species under the Wildlife Act. Thousands of people have followed the bird's progress from Kerry to the Wicklow mountains through a satellite tracking device.

Is the Senator seeking a debate on the issue?

The bird visited Meath, Monaghan, Armagh and rested on the shores of Lough Neagh before making the long journey to the Atlantic sea cliffs of south Cork. She then returned home to Kerry, possibly to breed there this summer. Now, sadly, she is no more.

This is a matter more suited to a Commencement debate.

There are only 100 pairs of this bird left in Ireland. Sadly, in that same area, one of the Killarney-reared white-tailed sea eagles was shot a few years ago.

Seagulls?

No, sea eagles, but on that point, if there is someone who is trigger happy in that area, maybe he or she could lend some assistance to my colleague, Senator O'Sullivan, who could point out some screeching seagulls near his Dublin residence which, as we know, are not a protected species.