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SENATORS TALKING ABOUT seagulls.
It’s one of the signs of the Irish summer, at this stage – like stories about Bruce Springsteen trying to go for a quiet pint, or pictures of David Norris wearing a silly hat.
Rising to address the upper chamber this afternoon, Senator Paul Coghlan of Fine Gael said he felt compelled to raise the “havoc” caused by the sea birds, after witnessing them in action last evening.
Last night as I left this house, opposite the corner of Molesworth Street and Frederick Street, and again separately at the corner of the Green and the top of Dawson Street, as I left… I witnessed something, in both instances, where these gulls, who seem to have a voracious appetite and can wreak havoc with their beaks…
After some light heckling from across the chamber, he opined:
You know, unlike other birds they don’t seem to understand bedtime. This was late at night.
Finally, arriving at the point he set out to make, Coghlan said the gulls were pecking holes in plastic refuse bags – and that businesspeople should be given advice on how to deal with the problem.
“These birds with their beaks have been destroying these… And I witnessed it in both these locations last evening.
They’d hardly move out of your way. They’re perched on ledges ready to swoop – and then you have litter strewn all over the place.
“This is terrible in our capital city,” he went on – suggesting “some repulsive spray” could be used to keep the winged pests away.
Senators versus seagulls
Senator Ned O’Sullivan of Fianna Fáil kick-started the Seanad’s ongoing crusade against seagulls in 2014, you may recall, remarking that they had “lost the run of themselves completely” and claiming that they were dispossessing children of their lollipops.
Last year (almost to the day) Senator Dennis O’Donovan, also of Fianna Fáil, said the birds were behaving like cows “with mad cow disease”.
A member of Birdwatch Ireland explained to us in the wake of O’Sullivan’s initial comments that overall numbers of herring gulls are in fact down in Ireland – but said that the birds were more noticeable around this time of year as it’s nesting season.
Around Dublin Bay, in particular, they’re making the move inland to breed because many of the islands they would typically use are infested with egg-eating rats.
According to the National Parks and Wildlife Service the reduction in population over the last 20 years is partly as a result of better management of municipal dumps, where the gulls would once have gathered in large numbers to feed.
They remain a protected species.
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Well this sounds like the Debenhams situation all over again told by email your job is gone with little else. Still dealing with the fall out from that 4 years later in the courts. I hope the staff are treated better than we the former Debenhams staff have been.
It’s too expensive to do business in this country anymore. This is only the beginning.
@Max Cooper: while I totally agree with you, unfortunately this has nothing to do with it, the UK went into administration last week, closed 7 stores with no notice yesterday with a further 100 to go, mass redundancies in head office with no notice either yesterday. It’s deeply fishy
@Gregory C Donoghue:
Your next account should be called “Walter Mitty”
lol
@Max Cooper: Or….maybe people have had enough of bolloxology nature sourced facial oatmeal crapology?
@Max Cooper: And we did it to ourselves.It will be some miracle if we get that EU Anti Money Laundering HQ today, but I suspect we won’t, based on our rapacious rates and charges, lack of accommodation compounded by widespread , unchecked anti social behaviour.
SF seem to be oblivious to the enormity of the task they face as a party that has never held power and the usual FFG suspects can only worsen the situation.
It’s a pity we can’t base an economy on Rugby and Rowing. We seem to be useless at everything else
The government are setting up a committee to look into it.
@noel donohue: something Smells here
@noel donohue: They’re not nor is there a need.
Debenhams, Argos, the Body Shop. Who’s next.
@Alex Marquis: Probably Halfords.
@Alex Marquis: Next
@Gerard Carey: Halfords are ok they have a lot of MOT centres in the UK plus service centres, tyre shops, parts stores and bicycles and all the extra stuff that goes with them.
@David McGrath: thats good
@Alex Marquis: Iceland also
Go Woke, Go Broke.
When the majority of your customers are women it probably helps if you can define what one is.
@Ollie McGlinchey: grow up.
Get your bargain price closing down sale new body now.
About 10 years, the Body Shop had a fabulous ginger body lotion/handcream for the Christmas period. It was the best one I ever used and the scent was beautiful. They never continued it . That was the problem. They didn’t move with the times re new scents, and the plastics didn’t disappear and compete with Lush on the environment issues.
What’s going on? First Argos, then M&S announce store closures and now The Body Shop.
Ah, the smell in front of their stores…
Bring back Anita Roddick – oh wait …
Can they not build the bloody thing to Stephen’s Green and talk about Charlemont as it is being progressed
have your say