Mr. Sean Coughlan:

In recent years, a significant amount of research has been done in respect of taking TB data. If we have TB data from the reactor database, we know the contemporaries within those herds and the grouping within those herds, and we have the ancestry, we can establish that a percentage of the resistance to TB is genetic in nature. Much of it is down to management. I do not want to get too technical but the heritability is approximately 14%. What we are seeing is that approximately 14% of the variability in terms of the animals that do or do not get TB is related to genetics. That means 86% of it does not relate to genetics but, rather, to where the animals are located, their exposure to the virus and so on. There is a strong heritability, however. On the TB battle, the feeling is that we need to take every possible avenue. Even if it can just nudge it in a very small way, farmers will take that. The current TB is at approximately 2% to 3% on the new index. It will not have a dramatic impact in terms of the index. There is a narrative which the point raised by the Senator brings up. A farmer in Carrick-on-Shannon told me there was TB in their herd last year.

The assertion was made that that was the reason their indexes had fallen. That is certainly not the case. There is no difference in that regard. Getting TB in your herd will not have an impact on the star ratings of the animals. We find biologically that animals that tend to be resistant to one disease tend to be resistant to other diseases. They just tend to be more resilient animals.