Feckin' birds.
The prevalence of seagulls in Dublin has become a health and safety issue, Sinn Féin's Louise O'Reilly has said.
The TD from the Dublin Fingal constituency said that she has received a number of complaints from residents about seagulls in coastal areas.
Speaking on Newstalk Breakfast on Monday morning, O'Reilly said the growth of the seagull population in Balbriggan, Skerries and Howth has been "quite alarming" and the birds had been nesting away from the sea and had been interrupting the sleep of residents.
"We have an issue around urban gulls, the population is increasing," O'Reilly said. "We know that they’re coming in from the sea due to climate change - is one of the factors - the conditions of our seas, and also due to overfishing.
"They can’t feed at sea so they’re going in and settling in our towns."
"It came to my attention because it was raised with me by constituents, so I have people living close to me here who have nests on their roof and they can’t sleep.
"That’s before you even get to the obvious problems caused by seagull waste and the antimicrobial resistance that comes from that.
"So we know that they damage property and we know that they keep people awake from about 5am in the morning."
She added: "The solution is to control the population and to ensure that we redirect them when possible to more appropriate places for them to nest.
"The issue is that they're nesting in urban areas which was previously not a problem to the extent it is now. We need to look at the public health and safety element, this is not just a nuisance - and it is nuisance - but it's more than that."
She called on the Government to look at a report into the seagull issue and to take action with the help of local councils.
