Dr. June Fanning:

Whether the deer were directly responsible in that area is not clear. Each of those outbreaks will have been investigated by one of our veterinary inspectors. On the wider point about deer, the over-population of deer causes a lot of problems, apart from the TB issue. Our evidence has shown that in Wicklow the TB prevalence in deer is about 16% but it is much lower, at around 2%, in deer elsewhere in the country. The over-population and the increase in deer numbers leads to a problem whereby they become a spillover host. They can become infected because there are so many deer.

The other major problem with deer relates to biodiversity loss and forestry loss. The Minister has set up, in conjunction with the National Parks and Wildlife Service, NPWS, a deer management strategy group. A public consultation was opened from December to February and over 1,500 submissions were received from a number of different stakeholders. A meeting was held last week between the deer management strategy group and key stakeholders to discuss what can be done to develop a sustainable deer management plan.