Mr. Pat Farrell:

There is no doubt that the TB programme has cost farmers and the State an enormous sum. We came from a high of 110,000 reactors in 1965 to 40,000 a year in 2001, when the wildlife programme was implemented, and we are now down to 15,000. The Department representatives on the TB forum seem reluctant to deal with some of our problems. All the farm bodies asked if the money could be front-loaded, because if the objective is to get rid of TB by 2030, it would surely cost less between 2025 and 2030 and that money could be front-loaded in the programme. The Department was reluctant to do that even though the costs and benefits would decide who would pay what into the programme. We found that incredible, and because our issues have not been addressed, we have not given our blessing to the interim report, but the TB forum seems to have gone ahead.

The Department was told that if the inconclusives were such a problem, it should take them out and compensate the farmer. The Department was totally reluctant to do that. If it is leaving the inconclusives behind, it is not serious about getting rid of the disease, because if there are problems in them, they will only resurface later. There were six pilot areas for badger vaccination, Monaghan being one.

This was the area in which the incidence of TB exploded. It was interesting to note that, after a while, it cleared more quickly in areas outside the vaccination area than inside it. For that reason, we would be reluctant to give our blessing to the vaccination programme because there is something going on. If badgers are being vaccinated in an area and the area beside it that it is equally as badly affected by TB seems to be cleared of the disease more quickly, that has to be explained, but it has not been.