With allegations swirling about VAT abuse, protests about gas prices and concerns over prescription hikes, you would have thought the Keys had plenty of serious issues to discuss.

Instead, some of the bright-eyed and bushy-tailed new intake of MHKs from the last general election got their teeth into quite another topic - the introduction of red squirrels to the Manx countryside.

And it was back on the menu despite DEFA having already ruled out the introduction of tufties - a threatened species in England and Wales - following a consultation with the public last year.

That didn’t stop Arbory, Castletown and Malew MHK Jason Moorhouse, fresh from his Tynwald question about how to stop seagulls stealing his nephew’s sandwich, from asking what plans there are to review the consultation findings in the light of red squirrel pox in Anglesey.

DEFA Minister Geoffrey Boot replied that personally, he believed red squirrels would be a welcome addition to the island’s nature proposition.

But he said bringing red squirrels to the island would only be appropriate, given there was no evidence that the species had been here before, if UK bodies proposed it for future conservation purposes.

’I would be delighted to receive a request from the UK authorities, which I believe we could and should accommodate,’ he said.

But then Garff MHK Martyn Perkins suggested, tongue in cheek, quite a different reason for bringing red squirrels over.

He told the Keys: ’In my distant past, in rural Somerset, I used to visit a pub that specialised in local produce.

’Depending on what was available, among other things, you could have red deer, badger, hedgehog, rook pie and even squirrel pie.

’I can vouch for the fact that the squirrel pie was extremely tasty and came with a very good crusty pastry top and was cooked in a rich sauce of cloves, coriander and garlic. Contrary to popular belief, there was no taste of nuts.’

Mr Perkins said he understood squirrel is very healthy, low in fat, contains fewer calories than chicken and it contains twice as much iron as beef.

He said: ’Bearing in mind the Chief Minister’s recent remarks on the obesity of the Manx public and the fact the Isle of Man is fast becoming a foodie destination, it might be a very good proposition to allow red squirrels to come to the island.’

Mr Boot replied: ’I don’t think red squirrel eating and shooting would be very welcome on the island, and it would not add much to our artisanal food offering.’

In an aside, Chris Robertshaw (Douglas Central) said: What about seagull pie?