2026-05-14

96. Deputy Edward Timmins asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine for an update on the bovine TB eradication programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35737/26]

I thank the Minister for this debate on TB eradication, which I welcome. In an earlier response, he mentioned that new TB measures came into place in April. I am anxious to understand the status of the new rules and their implementation.

I thank Deputy Roche for raising this important matter. The bovine TB programme has been a key priority for me since I took office. I am very aware of the financial and emotional challenges for Irish farmers, their families and the communities in which they live when there is a bovine TB breakdown. It is a difficult disease to control and eradicate, as we know, but it can be done and has been done in other countries. I launched the Bovine TB Action Plan: Addressing Bovine TB in Ireland in September 2025, following extensive engagement with stakeholders. It includes five key pillars and 30 actions underpinned by scientific research and veterinary expertise. On 13 April, a number of changes were introduced to animal testing and animal movement requirements. These include the removal of the post-movement test option for all cows and for males over 36 months of age; all dairy cows moving into a breeding herd requiring a 30-day pre-movement test; 30-day pre-movement testing for contract-reared heifers; the introduction of mandatory gamma interferon test, known as GIF testing, in large breakdowns of breeding herds, which will apply to herds with a restriction on or after 13 April 2026; and a restriction on sale of exposed cohorts where a GIF test is carried out in larger breeding herds for a period of time, and this will apply to herds in restriction on or after 13 April 2026. These changes were introduced to reduce the transmission of bovine TB from cattle to cattle. A reduction in bovine TB levels in breeding herds, especially dairy herds, is a key element in driving down bovine TB levels nationally. In simple terms, every measure in this is there for a reason. It is backed by science and it is targeting where the spread of disease has been the biggest contributor. I also established a new bovine TB helpline for farmers who enter a new TB breakdown. This helpline will provide practical support and advice to farmers on the bovine TB breakdown process. This week a new on-farm badger biosecurity scheme has been opened for applications. I have put €6 million towards it to support farmers with simple practical on-farm interventions, such as fencing off badger setts and raising water troughs. These will have a significant impact and I am financially supporting farmers to make these interventions. It will put a bit of power back in their hands as well because farmers regularly feel pretty powerless when it comes to a potential bovine TB outbreak.

I get it and I absolutely understand the compassion the Minister has for the emotion, distress and anxiety an outbreak brings to farmers. Sometimes it could be dairy herd. In particular I would like to understand vaccination schemes and programmes. I know we have a vaccination programme for the badger. Are we looking at, or are we anywhere near, a vaccination programme for herds, particularly dairy herds? If there is an outbreak in a dairy herd it is financially crippling and the consequence might be that the farmer might not return to dairy. I am anxious to understand whether this is a plan going forward and how it might impact farmers themselves.

The difficulty is with identifying whether a vaccinated animal tests positive; animals that test positive and vaccinated animals cannot be differentiated. Some research has been done and we have collaborated with research projects on vaccination in the UK and beyond. Vaccination masks the presence of the disease and we need to find it to eradicate it. All of my measures are about identifying it and seeding it out. When I speak about the focus on breeding stock, it is because 6%, give or take, of our herds in the country have it. A lot of these young maiden heifers were sold to low-risk farms, so unbeknownst to those farmers they had brought in a high-risk animal, which was then seeding the disease. We need to identify these animals earlier in the initial herd and get them removed so they do not spread the disease. This is happening because we do not have one test that is 100% foolproof. The annual herd skin test that farmers are familiar with only has 80% efficacy. One out of every five that goes through that tests negative but is positive, and that has been a key contributor to the disease. When we layer on the blood testing it increases our efficacy to over 90% but we do not have something that is 100%.

The €6 million fund for preventative measures is most welcome. The compensation ceiling for someone with a pedigree in-calf cow, which we know the value of, is €3,000. Are we revisiting that because they are taking a huge financial loss, as well as the emotional loss and the upset caused as a consequence of the outbreak on that prize animal? I would like to understand whether that is something the Department will consider revisiting.

I thank the Deputy for his comment on biosecurity measures. It is fencing off a sett and keeping cattle back. It is not about keeping the badger back in from the cattle. The cattle nose in around the latrine where the sett is and that has been a considerable cause of the spread of disease. Having that practical measure where farmers identify the sett and fence it off will make a difference as will new water troughs. It was important to support farmers in those efforts. We just finalised the tender process to increase staffing in the area of wildlife control. Most farmers affected by bovine TB only want to talk about wildlife. They are convinced that is it. This planned approach is identifying all elements of the cause and spread of infection. There is residual infection in herds as I referenced earlier. There is cattle and wildlife transmission, and we are addressing all parts of it. I received a record amount of money in the budget last year of €157 million for my new bovine TB plan. That was based on working towards eradication and turning the dial on the increased numbers and bringing them back. All of the focus of that money was to be on reducing the instances. It was not open to me under the conditions of that to open up compensation and ceiling caps. I would like to revisit it. I understand the challenge, but I have to focus the money I have on reducing that disease.