Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 2 Mar 1993

Vol. 427 No. 2

Written Answers. - Deer Damage to Crops.

Paul Connaughton

Ceist:

67 Mr. Connaughton asked the Minister for Finance if his attention has been drawn to the fact that deer which are the property of the Office of Public Works are causing damage to crops adjacent the Coillte forests; and whether farmers are entitled to compensation for their losses.

Minister of State at the Department of Finance (Mr. Dempsey)

Wild deer are not the property of the National Parks and Wildlife Service of the Office of Public Works, but become the property of the landowner onto whose lands they stray. Compensation is not paid by the National Parks and Wildlife Service in respect of damage caused by deer.

The general position is that deer are a protected species under the Wildlife Act, 1976. They may be hunted during the open seasons by a person who has a deer hunting licence and who has the shooting rights or the permission of the owner of the shooting rights to the lands over which hunting is to take place. Deer can be controlled outside the open seasons where they are causing damage to, for example, livestock, agricultural crops or woodland, but a licence under Section 42 of the Wildlife Act, 1976, is required. Application for this licence can be made to the National Parks and Wildlife Service of the Office of Public Works.