Ned O'Sullivan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I support the senior Senator for Kerry, Senator Coghlan, in this issue because I am also very concerned about reports which seem to suggest the hunting of the Killarney red deer has now become a purchasable pleasure. The Killarney red is a subset of the red deer and, as the Senator said, is an internationally protected species. It appears one can now get a licence to shoot them for the sum of €5,000. I do not know how exactly this developed. It seems that the only people who are entitled to shoot deer are the forestry and wildlife people for appropriate reasons. This is a new departure altogether. It is an offence to hunt, stalk and shoot these deer. It is reprehensible that wealthy Americans - in this case - can come over and shoot these deer to stuff them or, even worse, to cut their heads off and mount them on the walls of their dens, drawing rooms or clubhouses. The Minister, Deputy Humphreys, should come to the House and speak to us about this issue, tell us how this occurred and reassure us about what she will do to make sure it does not happen again. She should assure us that if these people are breaking the law, no matter how wealthy they are, they will be subject to the rigours of the law.

I have not had a chance to digest the statement that issued from Cabinet this morning on the pay-per-weight bin charges but I am somewhat concerned about what I have picked up on. I want the Leader to know that in Kerry we have been operating a pay-by-weight system for refuse collection for quite some time. It is very successful. My gut instinct is that Government is stepping back because of the debacle over water charges. No party has come out of it with any kudos. All the main political parties have succeeded in making a bunch of extreme Trotskyites look good. People who think it is good politics to lock two defenceless women into a car for four hours are looking good now because of the way we have handled water charges. I presume the Minister is afraid the bin charges will go the same way. I say this as a taxpayer on behalf of middle Ireland and the coping classes. I do not mind those who cannot pay but we will be paying for those who will not pay. Will we now be paying the bin charges and the refuge charges again for those who will not pay? Undergraduate politicians with megaphones are going around shouting down the people and it is very worrying.