None is more glaring than the question of Dublin’s Brent geese, repeatedly presented as the reason developments for housing and sports facilities in our capital grind to a halt. The light-bellied Brent geese are legally protected under Irish and EU law. Saint Anne’s Park in Raheny, Dublin, for example, had one of the highest concentrations of geese, with 1,450 individuals on the fields. Done intelligently – taking a rigorous, coherent and science-based approach, balancing human needs with wildlife – development and conservation can coexist. The real red herring here is the suggestion that geese are halting development.

Source: The Irish Times January 03, 2026 18:01 UTC