Aggressive seagulls are attacking Dubliners, Seanad told

Aggressive seagulls are attacking residents of the north Dublin town of Balbriggan, Fianna Fáil Senator Lorraine Clifford-Lee has claimed.

Speaking in the Seanad on Wednesday, she said that “children and elderly people are particularly vulnerable to attack from seagulls’’.

Ms Clifford-Lee said many Balbriggan residents had raised the issue with her in recent months.

She said seagulls had traditionally lived at sea and nested on cliffs.

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However, their food source from fish stocks had diminished over the years and they had moved inland to seek other food sources.

Research in 1980 had established that there were approximately 40 pairs of breeding seagulls in Dublin city, but that number had since increased to more than 20,000, she said.

“A similar study has not been conducted for north Co Dublin, but one can only assume that this abnormal increase has been replicated there,’’ Ms Clifford-Lee said.

She said the seagulls moved into housing estates and businesses in Balbriggan when the Balleally landfill dump near the town closed in 2012.

Ms Clfford-Lee said UK scientists were developing lasers to deter seagulls from nesting. She said the lasers would frighten but not harm them.

The lasers would force the gulls to return to the coast and their traditional breeding and hunting grounds on the cliffs, she added.

She said households and businesses in towns like Devon and Cornwall were given Hessian sacks to store their rubbish, because seagulls could not pick through them.

Minister of State for Regional Economic Development Michael Ring said he had sympathy for people "affected'' by seagulls.

He said it was an important and serious issue which affected families and children.

Protected

Mr Ring said seagulls were protected under Irish and EU law.

However, he said the Government had powers under European communities legislation to make a declaration allowing the capture and killing of some listed bird species in certain circumstances.

The declaration could be made to prevent serious damage to livestock and crops and for public health reasons, he said.

He said that, while the State’s annual declaration was generally renewed on May 1st every year, he wanted this process to be completed earlier this year.

Mr Ring said he was willing to consider the addition of the seagull to the declaration in this year’s review.

The regulations, he said, did not allow for the removal of nests or eggs, as was hoped by Balbriggan residents.

However, he said he would examine introducing an Amendment to allow for this.

He said he understood the programmes aimed at addressing seagull issues in UK coastal towns were led by the local councils.