Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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929. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht when deer were introduced to the national park in Letterfrack, County Galway; when Lyme disease was detected in the deer herd; the steps being taken to eradicate this disease from the deer herd; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23621/15]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Having become extinct in the area during the mid-eighteenth century, native Red Deer were reintroduced into Connemara National Park in 1982. I understand that Lyme disease is carried by ticks and a study produced in 1999 detected Lyme disease in ticks found in Connemara. These ticks are not restricted to red deer and can be found on a variety of other animals, including mice, voles, hedgehogs, dogs, sheep and horses.

Information on Lyme disease is available from the HSE at the following website: