Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail)
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679. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if there has been a survey conduction on the deer population; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14911/21]

Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
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There are three species of deer recorded as occurring in Ireland; these are red deer, fallow deer and sika deer. A fourth species, muntjac deer, has been reported from the wild on a number of occasions, but my Department does not have evidence that this invasive species of deer has established itself in the wild in Ireland.

Wild deer in the State are protected under the Wildlife Acts but there is an annual Open Season during which deer can be legally shot under licence. The Open Season for deer operates generally from the beginning of September to the end of February, depending on the species and gender of deer.

No national census of deer populations has been carried out to date. However, my Department carries out localised annual deer counts on State lands such as National Parks and the indications are that all three deer species are increasing in range and numbers.

Although not a direct measure of deer population size, the licence returns from deer hunters also provide some indication of wild deer numbers. The number of deer reported shot during the hunting season rose steadily from c10,000 in 2000 to over 30,000 in 2010 and this figure has increased again in recent seasons, reaching 40,000 for the first time in the 2017/2018 season.

Where appropriate, and depending on the annual count and instances of damage caused by deer to habitats, especially woodland, culls may be carried out on State land to ensure that deer populations do not reach levels that would have negative ecological consequences.