Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Paul Coghlan for raising this matter. I appreciate the Senator has a very good knowledge of the national park in Killarney. As a trustee of Muckross House and having devoted a long number of years to the welfare and development of the park, including its wildlife, it is appropriate that he raise this matter.

Nationally, wild deer in the State are protected under the Wildlife Acts. There is an annual open season during which deer can be legally shot under licence. The open season for deer operates generally from 1 September to the last day of February, depending on the species and gender of deer.

On deer policy in general, the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, together with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, recently published Deer Management in Ireland - A Framework for Action, which recommends a series of actions on deer management and conservation in a number of areas, including addressing the impact of deer in places where they are widespread. An Irish deer management forum has been established to implement the various actions listed in the report. The forum comprises representatives from the main stakeholder areas, such as landowners, forestry, hunting and conservation organisations, and representatives from both Departments.

In Killarney National Park, park rangers during their normal daily duties often take spot counts of deer on the lowlands. Sika deer numbers are not out of control in the park and are at much lower densities than can be found in Wicklow, for example. However, the National Parks and Wildlife Service would like to further reduce the numbers of this non-native species.

Red deer numbers have not significantly increased in the uplands of Killarney National Park. However, lowland numbers have increased, and these deer are highly visible. It is intended to commence culling this population in November once the rut has finished. It should be noted that pressure was exerted on red deer in areas adjacent to the park when they were on the open season order. This may have resulted in red deer entering the park for sanctuary.

With respect to the ongoing management of the deer population, the intention of any cull would be to focus on the red deer populations in Muckross and Knockreer in the first instance. The National Parks and Wildlife Service believes fencing the national park would not be viable and would not achieve the desired results for a number of reasons. First, as the presence of deer is not confined to the national parks, fencing of these properties would not serve any practical purpose in terms of wild deer control or management. Second, the park is more than 10,000 ha. in size and includes some rugged terrain. Fencing this area would be an enormous task, which would be unlikely to result in the desired objective. Third, sika deer are capable of going under fencing that is eight inches off the ground, while red deer are capable of knocking fences that are preventing them from reaching traditional feeding and shelter grounds. Fourth, the erection of a fence of this size would also impact on the sensitive habitats within the park. Fifth, there are many deer outside the park boundaries which would still be capable of running into the path of motorists.

The Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht is of the view that improving sight lines for motorists and improved signage are likely to be the most effective measures to assist motorists when driving through areas where populations of deer can be expected. These populations roam freely throughout the countryside and are present in many parts of the country.

I am aware that there have been calls in some quarters for the Department to carry out a national deer census. The Department does not have the resources to carry out or co-ordinate a national deer count. A large part of the deer population lives in forestry or woodland and it is particularly difficult to achieve reliable counts in such dense cover. There is no evidence to suggest there is any threat to Ireland's deer population.