Donal Hickey: Flora and fauna hurt Killarney

People with even a casual familiarity with one of our best national parks will be aware of two chronic problems — the growth of the deer population and rhododendron infestation, writes Donal Hickey.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that deer are dying of starvation in Killarney National Park and that centuries-old, native oak woods are threatened by the spread of the invasive rhodo. Since 2011, funds to the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) have been cut by almost 70% and the service has only half the number of rangers it needs.