Mr. Pat McCormack:

I will add to a few of those points. Mr. Morrison finished up by speaking about whether we believe we can eradicate TB. Five or five and a half years ago the industry was brought together with a view to eradicating TB by 2030. At the time the departmental officials that headed and led that for three or four years were a Mr. Forde and a Mr. Ryan. They were committed to the cause but, unfortunately, with career progression, etc., within the Department goes, they were not afforded the opportunity to see out the period to 2030 to deliver on their vision. The turnover of senior personnel in the Department is critical and, it is probably fair to say, is damaging the eradication of TB. I agree 100% with Mr. Morrison on exports and we are dependent on keeping that status.

On deer management, whether the Department recognises it or not, as Mr. Bourke said, the Road Safety Authority recognises it. We acknowledge that we have advice from the deer management group but there were deer management groups in the past and hopefully this one will be more fruitful. Deputy Kehoe asked about wildlife, Coillte and fencing and there is a huge issue out there for farmers adjacent to forestry land. Those fences have not been cured overnight and the problem has not gone away. I spoke with my own vet about this matter yesterday to see what the view is and while it is a significant issue in County Wicklow and parts of the west, there is forestry in every county and there are deer on every plot of forestry. It was mentioned earlier that this could become a widespread issue if it is not grasped. We would like to see personnel appointed for a period who could see out a defined vision period similar to the target that was there for 2030.