Jarveys lose bid to get dung catcher court order lifted

KILLARNEY’S jarveys have lost their bid to lift a court order which bars them from entering Killarney National Park until they agree to attach dung catchers.

The proceedings were taken against the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) of the Department of the Environment and Local Government by 27 jarveys.

Mr Justice Liam McKechnie said the jarveys had not satisfied him that the imposition of the dung catcher requirement was in any way outside the powers contained in the relevant 1932 Memorial Park Act.

The judge said he could not identify any attack on their constitutional rights and found there was no discrimination against them as between them and any other group.

He said the best way to prove their concerns on these issues would have been to use the device concerned on a trial basis in a controlled environment but it was a matter of regret they had refused to do this even on a trial basis.

The judge also ruled that the NPWS had a duty to manage and maintain the park for the enjoyment of the public. There was a much higher level of environmental awareness now than there was 20 years ago and those with responsibility had to respond.

Tourists, he said, were now much more discerning than in the past and the product being offered to them must reflect this.

He referred to the potentially hazardous conditions posed by dung on hard surfaces in the park when it rained. There were also the problems of flies which all constituted potential issues for health, welfare and safety. In addition the judge referred to potential problems for wheel chair users and buggies.

Mr Justice McKechnie ruled the applicant’s claims that their rights to earn a livelihood had been infringed was not sustainable and he refused the order sought and said the issue of costs would be dealt with in June.

During a two-day hearing in February last Elizabeth Murphy BL, for the jarveys, argued that the NPWS had no lawful authority to impose the condition of attaching dung catchers to their horses. She said no bye-law existed to impose such a restriction. She also held there was no entitlement to refuse the jarveys permits to access the park on the grounds they would not agree to the attachment of the dung catchers.

Counsel for the NPWS said the dung catchers were dangerous and could result in a horse bolting. There were also health and safety issues. In wet weather the dung turns to slurry which runs along the pathways and a distasteful smell pervades the air, the court was told.

One of the jarveys, Patrick O’Sullivan, Aadshanvooley, Killarney, Co Kerry, in an affidavit said he understood the estate was donated by Senator Arthur Rose Vincent in conjunction with William Bowers Bourne and Agnes M Bourne to the nation for the purpose of a national park and the donation was the subject of a the Bourne Vincent Memorial Park Act 1932.

On July 14 last he heard on the national airwaves without advance notification that their access to the park had been obstructed. He observed that the height of the demountable bollards in the middle of the gateway at the park had been heightened to prevent their access.