Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Each year, their contribution is growing. It is in the double million figures. It is a very significant event for any family farm to end up with TB. There is a stigma attached to it even still. We must look at this in the round. It is not just about animal welfare or TB eradication. We are now going to see it become a road safety concern. As Dr. Fanning said, badgers are nocturnal creatures. Anybody who is honest about this sees them dead on the side of the road frequently now.

I live in the countryside near beaches. I do not recall ever seeing this as frequently as now. I do not expect an answer to it but I am concerned about the direction it is going. I am concerned that we are not listening to the farming community, or that we think farmers are moaning because they have to deal with it or pay for it. We need to involve them more and we need to take this issue of deer and badgers more seriously. I am aware that we have talked enough about it now but I will be coming back on it. I know too many people who are facing too many hardships. As someone who has hit a badger I understand the damage it can do. It was not from a speed perspective; it was just the fact that a badger is a particularly hard animal on the road.

I will return to forestry. Mr. Gleeson said that, in effect, when there is a change in proposed schemes, applications slow down. Is this the reason no applications went into the Department in February? I looked at the forestry dashboard with regard to felling licences and so on. From the perspective of the afforestation licence dashboard, in the first four months of 2023, 15 km of forest road licences was issued. This is compared with nearly four times that amount in 2022. Is there a reason behind that? The same applies with regard to felling licences, where there has been a 100% drop in the issuing of such licences.