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Senator Ned O'Sullivan is stepping up his campaign against seagulls

The media may have thought his comments on seagulls were a joke — but the Fianna Fáil politician insists the issue is a serious one.

COMMENTS BY A Fianna Fáil senator on the subject of seagulls caused much hilarity back at the start of the summer, as you may well recall.

Senator Ned O’Sullivan warned that the winged terrors had “lost the run of themselves completely” and called for recently installed Environment Minister Alan Kelly to do something about the problem.

“They’re very raucous, they’re keeping people awake,” O’Sullivan complained in the Seanad back in July, noting that the birds were now “getting so cheeky” that they were attacking young children and dispossessing them of their lollipops (yes, really).

Think-in ahead

The Kerry senator seemed a little bemused to be asked about the issue again today — but, speaking at his party’s ‘think-in’ in Roscommon, said that yes, the issue should be taken seriously, and that he intended to pursue the problem with the Minister.

“It was an issue, it remains an issue. Obviously the media decided it was a good laugh — they’re out of touch with the people on this,” O’Sullivan insisted.

There were “quite a number of positive remarks” backing his stance in TheJournal.ie‘s comments section, he said, noting that he had also had feedback about the danger posed by the gulls to “people working at heights, people working on ladders” and others.

Every single major city in Europe and throughout the world has a seagull programme and policy.

“I’ll be raising it pretty soon in the new term in the Seanad with perhaps a bit more factual basis, to back-up what was initially was a reaction to what I was getting from people on the streets from people in Dublin.”

O’Sullivan has compiled a file of correspondence he intends to present to the Minister, he said.

Asked whether he was proposing a cull of herring gulls (which, by the way, are a protected species in Ireland) he said:

A cull would not be something that would appeal to me personally, but there are lots of other methods.

MOVIECLIPS / YouTube

Speaking to this website back in July, a spokesperson for the Department of the Environment insisted it wasn’t an issue for them, and referred our query to the National Parks and Wildlife Service.

The NPWS, in turn, insisted action had been taken on the issue in recent years…

“The Herring Gull is widespread in Ireland but the Irish population has in fact decreased hugely over the last 20 years, probably due to better management of municipal dumps where they once congregated in large numbers to feed,” a spokesperson said in a statement.

Read: Have seagulls ‘lost the run of themselves’? We looked into it…

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    Mute Peter Jo
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    Jul 2nd 2024, 1:36 PM

    Rock on Tommy, you will do a good job

    134
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    Mute P. V. Aglue
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    Jul 2nd 2024, 9:20 PM

    @Peter Jo: sure he could stay with the brother Paul to keep rté expenses down l

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    Mute Michele Milne
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    Jul 2nd 2024, 2:41 PM

    Best wishes Tommy

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    Mute Padraig O'Brien
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    Jul 2nd 2024, 1:59 PM

    Why does he spell his name that way, does he not want to be mixed up with Paul?
    Joking aside good luck to him, he is one of the better ones.

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    Mute Rover
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    Jul 2nd 2024, 4:16 PM

    Best of luck to the man

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    Mute Oh Mammy
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    Jul 2nd 2024, 2:33 PM

    Good luck Tommy boy! Baptism by fire!

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    Mute Uí Braonáin
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    Jul 2nd 2024, 4:33 PM

    Nothing left about Keir Starmer or the Labour party in general since the 90s. Not only in Britain, the whole western World has shifted to the right over the last couple of decades. We’ve seen it in FF and the Greens in this country. Nothing is state-owned. Everything is privatised or public/private partnerships.

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    Mute Hector turtlehead
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    Jul 2nd 2024, 3:50 PM

    Kilraine is desperate. Good he’s been removed

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    Mute Gavan Hogan
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    Jul 2nd 2024, 5:19 PM

    So, is he real or not ?

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    Mute 9QRixo8H
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    Jul 2nd 2024, 3:35 PM

    Labour are going to win the greatest amount of seats in UK history. What have the UK saw that they are shifting leftwards?

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    Mute Tony Skillington
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    Jul 2nd 2024, 3:44 PM

    @9QRixo8H: The British Labour are as about left as the small finger on your right hand.

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    Mute 9QRixo8H
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    Jul 2nd 2024, 3:45 PM

    @Tony Skillington: are you saying Britain are shift rightwards by picking Labour over the Conservatives or Reform? Or are they shifting leftwards? Labour will get an OVERALL majority.

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    Mute Tony Skillington
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    Jul 2nd 2024, 3:49 PM

    @9QRixo8H: they’re centre slightly left…the unions have lost their sway over the labour leadership thus the left influence has been well diluted.

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    Mute 9QRixo8H
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    Jul 2nd 2024, 4:34 PM

    @Tony Skillington: ok so the UK are shifting leftwards.

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    Mute Tony Skillington
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    Jul 2nd 2024, 6:05 PM

    @9QRixo8H: like most places, they want change
    The point I’m making is,like here, there’s no real alternative. Labour are more central than the Tories but aren’t what I’d call left wing.

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    Mute William Connolly
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    Jul 2nd 2024, 10:42 PM

    He has a very irritating voice

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    Mute Michael Fehily
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    Jul 2nd 2024, 8:33 PM

    I’ve no time for rte , especially their news . However in fairness to Tommy whoever, that’s a little tight timing

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