Mr. Lorcan McCabe:

Tuberculosis incidence has increased in the past four to five years. To get to a fundamental aspect of it without getting into the nitty-gritty, over the past five years, farms have got bigger with quotas gone. Herds have got bigger. Farmers have been pushed into increasing sizes to stay viable or into leasing their land. There are substantial amounts of cattle together, though not necessarily dairy. If there are 100 cows, tuberculosis might pass by, but if there are 500 cows in a herd, it adds to the problem. That is the starting point of what is happening. There needs to be something to keep the small farmer, both small dairy farmers and small beef farmers, viable rather than being pushed into larger herds.

The ICMSA fundamentally agrees with the new strategy. There are a few things we would like to tweak but we fundamentally agree. Financial support has to be put in place. Tighter measures will be put in place for farmers regarding testing etc. We need financial measures to back that up. The Department will say it can eradicate tuberculosis by 2030. If so, why not front-load the finance now and target this so that we will not need it in 2028, 2029 and 2030?

The Department is doing a reasonably good job with badgers but I am hearing it needs more staff with better knowledge to track and trace the badgers and to cull or vaccinate them in certain bad areas. There is another problem with wildlife. Our members tell us deer are a significant problem, especially in the Wicklow area, and the Department says they are not. Who does the committee believe? We need a study to state once and for all whether they are a problem. That would be helpful.

With all the measures that are in place, with extra testing on chronic herds etc., the principal issue is we need the finance to be put in place. In the past, we have been told it is a matter of vets against farmers and farmers against the Department, and people say there is an industry there. We are all in this together. I fundamentally believe farmers, the Department and vets want this disease to be eradicated. There is no point in me blaming the Department, the Department blaming vets etc. We have to get on with it with none of this bickering. Another area where farmers need help is if there is a breakdown in extra stock. There needs to be a feedlot system to get calves and such out of the way.

I will answer more questions but I believe that covers this for the moment.