Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Taoiseach. I am not happy with his response. He does not seem to be really concerned about it. In Kerry we have lost many lives, through people swerving and hitting trees. That is a fact. Large stags have landed on bonnets. Roads in Kerry are not safe, morning, noon or night. Deer are even going down into Valentia Island, Gneevgullia and Scartaglen. At any hour of the day or night people cannot travel on the roads. I am calling for a serious and immediate cull.

The Government is talking about increasing penalty points and reducing speed limits, but we have to deal with this threat on our roads. After all, Sika deer are only vermin and that is the truth of it. We like our red deer and do our best to maintain that herd. Sika deer are encroaching on their space.

In light of all that has gone on and all of the lives that have been lost this year alone, including the lives lost in Kerry, I ask the Taoiseach to ensure that a proper cull takes place. If there are 5,500 licences, it is not nearly enough. We need more like 100,000 licences in order to get rid of the deer that are in droves all over the county. It is not fair. Our roads need to be made safe for the people who are travelling on them. They are doing their level best and what is being allowed to happen on our roads is not fair. If a farmer let a calf onto a road, his house would be claimed from him if he did not have insurance to cover the animal. That is the God's gospel truth.

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