Mr. T.J. Maher:

Before I address the deer question, I re-emphasise the badger and wildlife vaccination programme cannot operate without the resources that are needed for it. There is a commitment there but the boots are still not on the ground. I gave an example of what happened when we took the foot off the gas. Unfortunately, there is clear evidence the badger population has increased dramatically and a huge number of setts have not been mapped. Boots on the ground are critical for that.

On deer management, we are clear. The establishment of a deer management forum, which will look after density reduction around TB outbreak areas, needs to happen immediately. In that context, our former regional vice president Tom Short was key in establishing a programme in Wicklow that identified a strain correlated from cattle, and that linked the disease from deer to cattle, which then spread. The density of deer in TB outbreaks is a crucial problem and has to be addressed early. We are very clear it is a problem in Wicklow, where it has proven so. We have to ensure a deer management forum will be properly set up and that people will take responsibility. At the moment, people are not taking responsibility. A national deer forum needs to be established, with responsibility placed at its door, in order that when disease outbreaks occur, a proper management programme will be instigated, density will be reduced and proper management of the population will flow throughout the country. That is the critical issue and we are in a position to do that now. If we wait much longer, we will not be.