Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Maybe this was addressed when I went out, but I am curious about "high-risk" and "low-risk". One of the options presented was "Voluntary or mandatory informed purchasing, which would allow farmers better inform their management decisions in respect of their herd risk management when they are purchasing cattle". I do not argue with the sentiments of the statement, but the forum is then going to put a lower value on cattle that have a clear herd test. If I am in a mart and I put up on the board that these cattle are coming from a high-risk area for TB, the number of customers I am going to have around the ring will be significantly lower. If I have two clear herd tests I feel as a farmer that I should be allowed sell my stock on an open field. This is saying I can sell away, but the purchaser is going to be warned these cattle have a higher chance of failing a TB test going forward. I can see the logic of what the forum is saying, but what mechanism is it going to put in place to make up for the shortfall there will be in the sale price of those cattle?

Independent valuers are an essential part of the whole live valuation system. I have been lobbied by independent valuers, as have other people here, and they are not happy with the payment system they are operating under. They are saying there is an antiquated method of paying and if they go into a large depopulation it costs them money, whereas you would think the opposite would be the case, namely, a large depopulation would be financially lucrative for them. Is there any plan to sit down with the independent valuers and see whether their grievances can be ironed out? They are a key part of the whole TB scene. Live valuation is hugely important for farmers who have reactors. On that, where a restricted herd is allowed be sold to one of these classified finishing units, is there a mechanism for independent valuation of the stock going into those finishing units? Say there is a person who is overstocked and it is locked up and he is allowed depart to one of these finishing units. Is there an independent valuation system for them?

My last question goes back to the point made earlier about the intensity of dairying, the increase in herd size and the impact it has had on the number of reactors. Does Mr. O'Mahony feel zero grazing has had a negative impact on reactors? The grass comes in and cows eat what is before them. Is that a more dangerous way of grass consumption, rather than the natural consuming of grass in the paddock?