Mr. Eddie Punch:

Not all forestry is owned by private landowners. Coillte also owns land and has indicated that it is unhappy with deer encroaching onto its forestry plantations. There is an interesting question about who is responsible for the fencing of land. Traditionally, if his or her stock encroached onto someone else's farm, a farmer would have said it was his or her responsibility to maintain or repair the fence.

Coillte does not feel it has any responsibility to fence its forests to stop deer coming through its plantation and going onto farmland. We take a different view. We believe Coillte must take responsibility. It is a very profitable company. Coillte says it does not own the deer so therefore it is not responsible for fencing them in. The issue must be looked at. It is a bit of a cop-out.