Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Dr. Fanning's opening statement focused very much on stakeholders. It is the farmer this has cost over the years. The commitment of farmers to the eradication of TB should not be questioned. There was only one very brief mention of deer in the opening statement. There was an outbreak within ten or 12 miles of my home and deer were roaming the fields. There has been an enormous increase in the numbers of deer. Farmers in Wicklow have stopped keeping bovines because they could not get clear of TB because of deer. We talk about eradication in a bovine herd but I do not see any strategy for focusing on the deer herd. Have we census figures for how many deer are out there? We are focusing on the badger, which I accept is probably the primary source of infection. However, there is most definitely TB in the deer herd. I do not see nearly enough focus on that point. We require some control of the deer herd. We can talk about lifting water troughs and everything else but no matter what height we bring them to, deer will drink from them.

Dr. Fanning also spoke about fencing off a badger sett. The badger will find somewhere else. Badgers will roam. That is fine when badgers are healthy and we should leave them be. The badger sett that is causing the problems might not be on one's own land. They do travel.