Almost €100,000 has been spent by the Government on consultants to write a report into ‘urban gulls.’
And the apparent seagulls scourge has even been referred to the European Commission by a Green Party minister Malcolm Noonan.
Anecdotally, seagulls in towns and cities seem to have gotten more brazen in recent years, with the larger gulls a nuisance for anyone trying to eat a sandwich or lunch in a park.
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The Government has taken the issue very seriously, with the Department of Local Government spending €92,557.50 on special seagulls consultants.
The taxpayer has picked up the tab for the birdbrained report and the spending has been questioned by Social Democrats co-leader, Catherine Murphy.
This is not the first time politicians have gotten in a flap over seagulls.
Famously, in 2014, Fianna Fáil Senator Ned O’Keefe launched a tirade against the birds, saying in the Seanad that “seagulls have lost the run of themselves.”
Mr O’Keefe accused them of snatching lollipops from kids too.
He said: “They’re very raucous, they’re keeping people awake.
“I saw that they’re getting so cheeky now that they attack young children and dispossess them of their lollipops and stuff like that.”
Ms Murphy received information about the seagulls consultants bills from a series of PQs (Parliamentary Questions) she submitted to the local government department.
The Kildare TD told the Irish Mirror last night: “Having reviewed the Minister's response in some detail, and with the relatively recent report on a review of the use of Article 9(1)(a) of the EU Birds Directive in Ireland in mind, I find the expenditure of almost €100,000 difficult to understand.
"A previous minister engaged a consultancy as well, just another example of the civil service use of consultants without benefitting from any learnt experience.
"From what the minister has stated, all that will come from this is a public relations campaign.
“The minister also appears to have been rebuked at a European level."
Mr Noonan said to Ms Murphy in his reply to her: “My officials have engaged with the EU Commission in respect of urban gulls.
“The Commission advises that this issue was not of particular concern to Member States or requiring a special discussion in the Ornis Committee that assists the Commission in the implementation of the Birds Directive nor in the NADEG Committee (Expert Group on Birds and Habitats Directive).
“My officials have engaged with Fingal County Council in relation to implementing agreed next steps on the development and implementation of actions, where appropriate e.g. a public relations campaign.
“A total of €92,557.50 including VAT was paid to a consultancy firm for the Urban Gull Survey in 2021.”
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