The ongoing issue of wild deer on the main road between Abbeyleix and Durrow was raised once again at this week’s Portlaoise Municipal District meeting of Laois County Council.
Abbeyleix-based councillor John Joe Fennelly has previously tabled a motion calling on Transport Infrastructure Ireland to provide fencing on both sides of the road.
He said that he recently been contacted by the Wild Deer Association of Ireland, who have carried out a survey on the area in recent times.
“There were two deer killed on the road in the past couple of weeks,” said Cllr Fennelly. “And there have been a lot of incidents that haven’t been reported.
“There will be a fatality and it will be said to us, ‘what did we do?’
“We have to convince the TII (Transport Infrastructure Ireland) to fund fencing on both sides of the road.”
Laois County Council Director of Services Simon Walton acknowledged the two main issues – that of safety and wildlife – and that the council have been engaging with TII since Christmas.
Cllr Fennelly explained that a red deer can have a body mass of 120kg and that if they are hit by a car travelling at 100km/h “it’s only natural that people will be injured”.
“It is something we really have to follow up on.”
