Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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690. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to outline the provisions and regulations open to authorities to cull animals that pose a health and safety risk on public roads; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21050/16]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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My Department’s involvement in a recent event in County Monaghan was limited to the provision of veterinary assistance and related matters on behalf of the Official Assignee in Bankruptcy acting as an Officer of the Court.

I am advised that the actions in question, which were exceptional in nature, were undertaken under the overall control of the Official Assignee in Bankruptcy acting as an Officer of the Court who has stated publicly that the decision to proceed in the way he did in relation to the cattle was made very reluctantly and was made in the interests of the public safety of the local community.

It should also be noted that the cattle were at the time in the ownership of the Official Assignee. Significant efforts had, I understand, been made to contain the animals, however these proved futile because of their feral nature. In the interests of public safety, the Official Assignee, in consultation with the Gardaí and the Department, considered that the most optimal course of action to be taken was that the animals be euthanised. The protocol agreed between my Department and the Department of Defence was invoked and the animals were subsequently killed humanely by skilled army personnel in line with the agreed protocol.

I am advised that there was no realistic alternative action available to the Official Assignee in the circumstances taking account of the fact that the protection of public safety was the primary consideration at all times.