Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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288. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the extent to which deer farming and the production of venison remains a viable enterprise; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5158/17]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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Deer farming in Ireland is an alternative farming enterprise which is extremely reliant on the supply and demand dynamics that affect all agricultural production systems within Ireland. In 1996 there were approximately 500 deer farms in Ireland with 20,000 deer, but numbers have declined significantly since that time. There are now only a small number of farmers in Ireland supplying deer for meat production to cater to the niche market available.

Its viability is dependant on producers and companies ensuring that there are customers available for their product, an objective which Bord Bia assists in by identifying potential market outlets.

My Department has approved one factory for the slaughter of deer in Ireland. There may also be outlets for processing of venison in local authority approved plants but this would be a matter for the local authority concerned.