I wish to raise with the Taoiseach the matter of excessive numbers of deer roaming our roads in Kerry. Road safety is paramount. These deer are compromising people's safety.

I want to mention the large number of deaths on our roads in north Kerry especially and to sympathise with the families who have lost loved ones. We all feel for those people. Deer have caused many deaths in our county. They have left many cars and vehicles in smithereens and many people are not covered by insurance. We in Kerry cannot carry on with the increased number of deer. They are everywhere, in droves. They are on every road in the county. They are even coming into towns and villages.

In the domain in Killarney they are knocking over rubbish bins. They are emanating from the national park and forests, many of which are State owned. The number of deer has resulted in a rise in Lyme disease because they are carriers. Many people do not report accidents. Farmers' crops and grasses have been ravaged by these fellows. Given the cost of fertiliser, life is unbearable for many farmers.

Councillor Johnny Healy-Rae raised this matter at a full meeting of Kerry County Council last week. He pointed out that hardly a day goes by that Kerry County Council does not have to take deer off the Kilgarvan road. They are roaming everywhere, on the Bunane Road, Lauragh, Tuosist, Moll's Gap, Sneem, south and east Kerry and the N22 in Killarney. My son made smithereens of his car on the N22 travelling from Killarney at Ballydowney. They are in Kilcummin, Gneevgullia, Scart, Rathmore and Castleisland. Along with the carnage on our roads, they have farmers cleaned out.

The late Terence Casey, a former south Kerry coroner, launched a fierce attack on the National Park and Wildlife Service, NPWS, in 2016. This followed an inquest into the death of a Killorglin mother, Susan von der Geest. It was claimed she had swerved to avoid a deer and lost her life. She left three children after her when she hit a tree. Mr. Casey said in 2016 when he visited the area to see the deer for himself that if another fatal accident happened blame would be apportioned to the NPWS. I call for a serious cull of the deer population like they are supposed to be doing in Wicklow.

The roads in Kerry need to be made safe for all of the people who use them. Maybe the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, does not want people on our roads. He has suggested that we have wolves as well. We have enough problems with deer. I ask the Taoiseach to organise a serious, proper cull.

I agree that road safety has to be of paramount concern for all of us. I am shocked at the number of lives that have been lost on our roads so far this year. I extend my condolences to the families and communities affected. There are many aspects to road safety, including car safety, the quality of roads, speeding, behaviour and education. I accept that animals on the road can be a road safety risk. The constituency I represent is very different to that of Deputy Healy-Rae, but we have a significant number of deer in the Phoenix Park. They sometimes get out and cause road safety issues. I can understand how deer that are not enclosed could cause road safety concerns and potentially result in very real problems around the country.

We have a deer management forum that works between the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the NPWS. So far, 5,500 licences have been issued by the NPWS for deer hunting. The NPWS culls deer in national parks and there is a section 42 system for landowners. We do not believe that a national cull programme is needed, but the forum will report on this shortly and will make further recommendations.

I thank the Taoiseach. I am not happy with his response. He does not seem to be really concerned about it. In Kerry we have lost many lives, through people swerving and hitting trees. That is a fact. Large stags have landed on bonnets. Roads in Kerry are not safe, morning, noon or night. Deer are even going down into Valentia Island, Gneevgullia and Scartaglen. At any hour of the day or night people cannot travel on the roads. I am calling for a serious and immediate cull.

The Government is talking about increasing penalty points and reducing speed limits, but we have to deal with this threat on our roads. After all, Sika deer are only vermin and that is the truth of it. We like our red deer and do our best to maintain that herd. Sika deer are encroaching on their space.

In light of all that has gone on and all of the lives that have been lost this year alone, including the lives lost in Kerry, I ask the Taoiseach to ensure that a proper cull takes place. If there are 5,500 licences, it is not nearly enough. We need more like 100,000 licences in order to get rid of the deer that are in droves all over the county. It is not fair. Our roads need to be made safe for the people who are travelling on them. They are doing their level best and what is being allowed to happen on our roads is not fair. If a farmer let a calf onto a road, his house would be claimed from him if he did not have insurance to cover the animal. That is the God's gospel truth.

I thank the Deputy. I might ask the Minister of State, Deputy Malcolm Noonan, to engage with the Deputy directly during the week. As he knows, the Minister of State has responsibility for nature, heritage and electoral reform and holds the pen on this issue. He has advised me that we need to cull significant numbers of deer over and above the 60,000 deer which have already been culled. I might ask him to speak to the Deputy later in the week and elaborate on that.