Moloney warns of dangers of unfenced road at Ballydowney

The dangers posed on a stretch of road at Ballydowney, Killarney, on which there is no ditch or fence were raised in the Upper House by Labour Senator Marie Moloney.

“It is level with the national park where the deer are free to roam,” she said. “At a recent inquest, the coroner said that while he could not find traces of deer in that fatal accident, there were traces of deer in three fatal accidents previously. Many minor accidents have occurred on that stretch of road. Last week, I spoke to a woman who told me a deer wandered onto the road, hit the windscreen of her car and smashed it and broke the mirror. Many such accidents occur at that location but many people do not report them. I have been on to gardaí in Killarney who told me they get between 70 to 100 calls every year from people reporting deer on the road posing a danger.”

She said the Minister (Gerald Nash) would appreciate that if a farmer had livestock in a field, he would have to have a ditch or a fence to stop cows, sheep or other animals wandering onto the main road where an accident could happen. “There used to be a high wall at that location but for some reason, it was removed and there is nothing in its place to prevent the deer wandering onto the road.”

In response, Minister of State Nash said the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht has no plans to fence the national park. “Deer, albeit larger, are like other wild animals in this country and I am advised it is not part of the remit of the Department to cordon them onto specific areas of land,” he said. “Moreover, fencing the national park would not be a viable solution and would not achieve the desired results for a number of reasons. The presence of deer is not confined to the national parks and so fencing of these properties would serve no practical purpose in terms of wild deer control or management. The park is more than 10,000 ha in size, including some rugged terrain. Fencing this area would be an enormous task which is unlikely to result in the desired objective. Sika deer are capable of going under fencing that is 8 in. off the ground while red deer are capable of knocking fences that are preventing them from reaching traditional feeding and shelter grounds.”

However, he said if it is the case that there was a wall there, perhaps some form of secure fencing could be erected in the area to protect motorists. “It is terrible to hear that deer may have been responsible for accidents in the area,” he added.