Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chairman and all our guests for being here this evening. This is a timely and important debate. If the definition of madness is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results then the epitome of madness is the Irish tuberculosis, TB, eradication programme. We are now at a point where having spent €97.3 million directly last year, which was a substantial increase on previous years, we had, as Mr. Cullinan said, 23,000 cattle directly removed as reactors to TB. More than 4,000 farms were affected. If anything, the problem seems to be getting worse. It is crucially important that our committee keeps a close eye on that.

Senator Daly asked the big question. To me, the programme is not working. Do the guests get a sense from the new TB strategy that there will be a fundamental shift in terms of our approach to this issue and our holistic view of how this happens? Do people have a sense of why the numbers have increased as dramatically as they have in recent years, considering the level of investment that has been spent on the matter? I am interested in hearing that.

A number of the opening statements raised concerns, and it was mentioned again, about the TB letters that were sent last year. We all recall the furore and the anxiety and anger it created among many farmers. Can the stakeholders outline what they believe happened there? Why were those letters considered to be appropriate? Is there is a better way of communicating with farmers? Have they any views on that?

Scotland has some similarities. I will not say it operates in the same environment because it does not. It has essentially eradicated TB, however. Is there anything our guests feel we can learn from the Scottish experience?

Finally, the farmers' contributions to TB have been mentioned a couple of times. This will probably become more focused because EU funding will continue to decline. I must say, I can hardly blame the EU. If one examines our figures and is then asking the EU to fund a programme that is clearly not working, one can understand why it will be reluctant to do so. My fear, however, is that the Department will seek to try to recoup some of that over time by increased penalties or contributions coming from farmers. Can our guests see a way in which the money already collected and expended, which, as I mentioned, amounts to upwards of €100 million per year, could be better spent in a more targeted way that will actually deliver tangible results that we have not seen through the existing programmes?