Patrick Costello (Dublin South Central, Green Party)
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70. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the estimated number of deer in the Phoenix Park annually from 2010 to date and the number culled by the OPW for each year, in tabular form. [41836/23]

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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The Office of Public Works manages the deer herd in line with advice from Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine (Deer Management in Ireland a Framework for Action – 2015) and the Laboratory of Wildlife Ecology and Behaviour, School of Biology & Environmental Science, at University College Dublin. The OPW is also a member of the Irish Deer Society and received the John Nicholson Perpetual Trophy in 2016 for its management of the Phoenix Park herd.

The current herd size is at a stable and sustainable level for the Phoenix Park. The deer population in the Park is actively managed to keep the herd at a sustainable size. Attempting to maintain too many deer within a restricted park area such as Phoenix Park would soon lead to a number of problems such as:

• Build-up of parasites and other pathogens causing disease in the deer;
• Overgrazing of grasslands leading to scarcity of food and more animals would ultimately suffer;
• Potential impact on diverse range of habitats;
• Potential animal welfare issues such as low body fat, malnutrition and high incidence of death from exposure to cold in winter.