Tim Lombard (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I would like to welcome the witnesses and I thank them for their contributions. First, I would like to declare an interest. I have been up and down with TB over the last five or six years on a continuous basis.

I would like to comment first on the quality of staff. I acknowledge that the organisation's staff around the country are very capable, competent and do a very good job. I want to acknowledge that they have been very helpful in the majority of farms I have dealt with and that they are really effective operators on the ground. In particular, I refer to the likes of farm relief where they do an excellent job. I would say they know every ditch in the parish at this stage. They are really competent individuals.

I will ask about a few issues, the first of which is the delays in payments and working with farmers to make sure people get payments. While I have been in this meeting, one farmer texted me to say he has been waiting for a payment, and that 15 cows have gone down. There is an issue with slow payments. These cows went down last September but there is still no money in the bank regarding these cows. Is there a system in place to make sure these payments are fast-tracked so that farmers are not in a situation where they have to wait for payments?

Regarding the movement of reactors, has a defined timeline been put in place to make sure reactors can be moved? I realise there is an issue with finding locations and I realise it is a complicated job. Yet, is there a defined timeline regarding moving these reactors?

I want to ask about the new EBI status of bulls that is being proposed, as well as the new EBI status of some bulls that have high traits regarding health. Farmers will be going through a breeding programme in the next few months. I do not think the majority of farmers even realise that this health index is part of the EBI programme. Not only the health index, I do not think they know that TB is a part of it. This is probably not a question for the representatives. They famously said it was more a problem for genetics. Yet, it is a matter of getting that information out there. I have asked the Department what it is doing in the next three months in particular. I know most of the breeding operators. AI companies are doing roadshows at the moment, but when I went it was not mentioned at all. What is being done to get that information out there? As the representatives said, it is such a serious issue.

Regarding the farmers, mention was made of the vets, the valuers and the representatives. What training does the Department do with its vets, vets at a practice level, and the valuers who are entering farms? There could be awkward situations when animals go down. There could be health issues, mental health issues, strain or financial issues. You might meet a farmer at his worst possible moment, and this is no offence to the farmer in that moment. How will we deal with that? What are we doing to make sure that is being taken care of?

I compliment the organisation on the report it sent forward. I would like to focus on page 27 of the report, which gives really good information regarding statistics and figures. At the top of page 27, there is a graph with data from 2013 to 2023. The representatives might comment on that graph. My reading of it is that from 2013 to 2023, the dairy herd made up the majority of the increase in reactors. The report goes on to state that dairy animals in the graph itself come out at 63%, and the representatives might clarify this. That is the statistic - 63% are dairy animals. Is there a plan in place for that section of the industry? If you look at that figure, that is where the growth happened since 2013. That is the majority of the reactors. If we are to look at any statistic, that is the area that needs to be looked at.

With the deepest respect to Dr. Griffin, I do not believe that the sale of animals is the biggest issue when it comes to TB. It is my view that the majority of these herds are closed herds, but they might buy a stock bull every second year. They work with genetics a lot, and that is why AI is probably very important. Their transmission is going from animal to animal. Probably wildlife is giving TB to the first reactor, which is then transferring it on. That is the real core of our problem. What we will do about the dairy industry to make sure it is effective going forward to reduce the TB in those herds?

The other statistic I want to look at regarding the dairy industry states that 0.6% relates to dairy calves. We have a bizarre scenario, which is that if you are locked up tomorrow, none of your dairy calves can be sold. Nothing can move, because of the regulation that is in place. Yet, in the organisation's statistics, 0.6% are coming up as reactors. The hardship that causes for farmers in the springtime is indescribable. There is no outlet. It is important I acknowledge that there is no outlet for calves. No other farming group will take them because they do not take Friesan calves. They might be on the books of the organisation, but they do not actively take them. There is no slaughter system now, which is very logical and fair.

Regarding workload, mental health and financial health, you name it, how will we deal with that issue? Herds will be locked up in the next few weeks. Farmers will have calves until next June. They might not have the housing for them and they cannot move them. Statistically, less than 1% of them will go down. It is a very serious question for the farming community, and I do not have the answer to it. Something needs to be looked at regarding it, because there is no outlet this year. There is no outlet whatsoever. They are my opening questions, and I might come back in afterwards.