A GROUP of jarveys have opened their High Court challenge to a ban on their driving through Killarney National Park unless they agree to attach dung-catchers to their horse-drawn carriages.
The 27 jarveys, who claim the dung-catchers are dangerous and could cause the horses to bolt, are seeking a court order quashing the ban imposed in October by the National Parks and Wildlife Service.
Opening their action yesterday against the service and the Minister for the Environment, Elizabeth Murphy said the jarveys had operated in the national park since Victorian times and there was no lawful authority to impose the condition of attaching dung-catchers.
At the very minimum, a bylaw was required and there were no such bylaws, she said. There was also no entitlement to refuse permits to the park on grounds the jarveys would not agree to the attachment of the dung-catchers, Ms Murphy also submitted.
Paul O’Higgins SC, for the public authorities, rejected the claims and said they would also refute arguments that the dung-catchers posed a danger.
In an affidavit, jarvey driver Patrick O’Sullivan said he had heard on the national airwaves on July 14th that the jarveys’ access to the park had been obstructed. He said the height of bollards in the middle of the park gateways had been raised to prevent their access.
The dung-catchers rendered the horses’ tails immovable, meaning they were defenceless against fly attacks, Mr O’Sullivan added.
No other horses or horse-drawn carriages in the State were required by law to be fitted with this device.
In his affidavit, Eamon Meskell, southwestern regional manager of the parks and wildlife service, said there were 15km of pathways within the park and one of the consequences of so many jarveys plying their trade along these pathways was they were “consistently fouled”.
There had been complaints over the years about the disgraceful condition of the soiled roads.
The hearing before Mr Justice Liam McKechnie continues.