Paul Coghlan (Fine Gael)

I am concerned about the native red deer herd, which was threatened with extinction not too long ago. The herd is now estimated to number 700, but we do not have a definitive number. I understand that there are some red deer in Doneraile, Letterfrack, Donegal and in Wicklow. Unfortunately, the deer in Wicklow are hybrids and the deer in Donegal are Scottish.

We owe a debt of gratitude to the former Taoiseach, Mr. Charles Haughey, for helping to protect and preserve the gene pool by taking some red deer to his island of Inishvickillane. This was to protect the herd in the event of the animals on the main land being attacked by TB, which thankfully never happened.

Killarney National Park is an international biosphere reserve and no one wants to see people entering the park with licensed guns to hunt. That would be an anathema to everything that a national park represents. Deer will naturally wander in search of food and there has been an invasion of the grazing land of the deer, in the upland areas, by cattle and sheep. The authorities have not been able to control this encroachment. I accept that the deer may be a nuisance to farmers and perhaps more control measures are needed.

The road from Killarney to Kenmare, a national secondary route, passes through the heart of the national park. There are signs warning motorists of the presence of deer because naturally the animals cross that road. However, it is scandalous that there are also 100 km/h signs along the route, some immediately adjacent to Muckross village where there is a dangerous chicane. It is difficult enough, at low speeds, to negotiate the bends in the road without having 100km/h signs erected. This is close to the area where the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Deputy Ó Cuív, was struck. Thankfully, nobody was seriously injured in that incident, but much damage was done.

I appeal for the removal of the 100km/h signs and an increase in the number of deer warning signs. This is an historic area, encompassing Muckross Abbey, Muckross House, a hotel and Torc waterfall. People should be encouraged to reduce their speed while driving in the national park.

Many people in south Kerry, and in Killarney in particular, are very perturbed by the negative attitudes to the alleged overpopulation of the red deer herd. A proper count must be conducted so that we know the exact numbers, for both the red deer and the Sika. These animals are a protected species and they deserve professional management by a properly established authority. We do not have such an authority.

I have referred to the fact that increasing numbers of deer are invading lands outside the national park area, in search of food. The deer have been forced from their mountain habitat by the competitive presence of cattle and sheep, new forestry and rhododendrons. It is time that the management of deer throughout Ireland, and in south Kerry in particular, became the focus of the interested bodies affected such as the National Parks and Wildlife Service, the IFA, the ICMSA, Coillte and others. These bodies must agree on structures that will protect both the deer and the public.

Members of the Kerry Deer Society are very upset at the measures being suggested for the control of deer. Hunting licences have been called for and the chairman of the society likened the situation to the wild west and deplored the indiscriminate slaughter of deer. While this may be an overreaction, it is not acceptable to issue hunting licences to people outside of State control. If a deer cull is necessary, then the State should carry it out because there is a Bourne Vincent Memorial Park Act of 1932, which was the forerunner of the Killarney National Park and covered the initial 11,000 acres——