Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)

I thank the Minister for his reply. This is an important issue facing the entire country. I welcome the intention of the Minister but what timetable does he envisage? We need more than consideration of these issues. We need a decision from the Minister to proceed with the steps he outlined and if it means banning hunting and closing national parks, so be it. It is essential that we act. The reality is that it is unlikely we will keep avian influenza out of this country; it is already in the United Kingdom. I ask the Minister to consider increasing the level of urgency about the approach to be taken. While I welcome everything the Minister said, perhaps he could pay even more attention to what is happening in other European countries, although I understand many of the birds coming to us from the east travel west across the country. This is a very important issue.

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