Mr. Colm Forde:

I apologise as my system crashed when I was addressing the deer question.

The Committee of Public Accounts addressed this issue in 1994. As the Secretary General stated earlier in his presentation, we launched a new TB strategy in January of this year. We have a revised governance structure filled with stakeholders to ensure we take on board their views.

Simon Moore highlighted the different policies of the strategy. We seek to work in partnership. We have our forum with three working groups, namely, scientific, financial and implementation. We are seeking to prevent spread from herds with a high risk of recurrence. We have enhanced actions to clear infection from extended breakdown herds. We are addressing the risk posed by inconclusive animals. A new policy was launched on that last week. We have action plans for areas with heightened levels of TB. This has been quite successful in the Monaghan-Cavan area. We are aligning with the incoming EU animal health law. From the wildlife perspective, we have specific actions to address the risks posed by badgers. We are also working with stakeholders in looking at any potential risks with the deer population.