Mr. Tom?s Bourke:

To pick up on the other two points, Deputy Browne talked about more being spent while doing the same old thing over and over. We have to be careful about using that overly simple narrative because, if we find something to be successful, we should continue to do it and enhance how we do it. The figures clearly show that after we implemented a wildlife control programme for the very first time back in 2000, as the Chairman will recall, we reduced the number of reactors from 44,000 all the way down to 13,000 by 2013. Unfortunately, as has been clearly shown, the eye was taken off the ball by those responsible for implementing that programme. This has contributed to a significant increase since.

We know that one of the key tools is reducing the prevalence of disease in wildlife. That has to remain the primary focus. This is the evidence in all the other jurisdictions throughout the world, including New Zealand, Australia and the United States. The same issue arises in those jurisdictions. You cannot get rid of TB in the bovine population until you address it in the wildlife population. That is the critical strand. While there have been practices in the past that have not been successful, and while continuing to do them would not reap any rewards, we need to return to carrying out on the ground those that have been successful. That is where we need the extra resources and the wildlife control programme. Obviously, the science and sequencing will help, and we will always find the other bits.

Deputy Ring asked a very direct question – more direct than Westport was at the weekend against Moycullen.