Mr. Joe Healy:

The IFA is acutely aware of the importance of maintaining the hard won high health status of our national livestock herd, given that Ireland is such a major exporter of agricultural produce. Farmers have supported and continue to support the efforts of the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine in eradicating TB from the national herd at an enormous direct and indirect cost. However, continuation of this support should not be taken for granted if the key issues we have outlined are not addressed. The IFA is demanding the eradication of TB from the national herd in the shortest feasible timeframes. However, this cannot be achieved by further increasing the already enormous and disproportionate cost burden imposed on farmers under the programme. The main contributing factors identified by the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine to the current stagnation of progress towards eradication can be addressed in a more practical and effective way that takes account of the farming dynamic in Ireland and the critical importance of animal movements and live exports. This will require upfront investment by the Government in the short term in order for all stakeholders and beneficiaries to accrue the long-term benefits of early eradication of the disease from the national herd. Our submission sets out in detail how this can be achieved.

I thank the Chairman and committee members for their attention. We look forward to taking questions.