Tom Fleming (Kerry South, Independent)
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471. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the monitoring being carried out on deer that are infected with tuberculosis; the communication his Department has with the Office of Public Works and the National Parks and Wildlife Service; if he in conjunction with the Office of Public Works will introduce a plan to combat the threat of tuberculosis spreading from deer herds to farm animals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21973/15]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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My Department applied for and was granted a licence by the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht to shoot deer out of season from an area of County Wicklow, south of the Sugar Loaf and north of Roundwood in October, 2014. The sampling of 103 deer was completed in January 2015. The study revealed that some 4.8% deer had visible lesions and 15.5% cultured positive overall.  A previous survey in this region in 2008 found a lower visible lesion rate but the culturing methodology used was different.

The exercise also involved the culling and examination of badgers from the same area.  26% of the badgers were cultured positive for TB.  Strain typing to show linkages between the TB in deer, badgers and cattle in the area has not been completed yet.

The findings in Wicklow indicate that, as expected, there are pockets of deer where infection is present. The high level of TB infection in badgers is also of concern and may well be a key factor in this multi-host outbreak of the disease.  There is an active badger control programme in operation in Wicklow and this has led to a reduction in the incidence of TB in cattle in recent years.

Under the Wildlife Acts, responsibility for wild deer rests with my colleague, the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. Officials from my Department provide on-going advice to keepers and their veterinary practitioners on disease control measures and bio - security in relation to wildlife, including deer, and are available to discuss these issues with herdowners.

A non-statutory Irish Deer Management Forum (IDMF) has recently been established, with an independent chairperson and includes representation from stakeholder groups, including farming, forestry, conservation, hunting and other interest groups as well as Coillte and officials from my Department and from the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. Results from the Wicklow deer study have been passed on to the Forum and these will be discussed at the next meeting, due to take place this month. It is intended that this forum, including all of the stakeholder representatives, will assess and progress all aspects of deer management.