William Aird (Laois, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the speakers. We are here to ask questions and we are all here for the common good to try to reduce TB in all the herds throughout the country. First of all, I sympathise with the financial stress and emotional stress on farming families when the farm is hit with TB. I know what it is like. I am a full-time farmer. I will take just a second to tell a little story. A man rang me one day. He was after having a major breakdown and was fierce upset about it and a lot of his cows were going. He asked me what he should do. I said, "I will tell you what to do. Go inside and if you believe say a few prayers, pull down the blinds, let the two lorries out and hope that you would be able to come out the door after it." That is how bad it is on farming families. I just wanted to tell the witnesses that. It is not only awful for the farmer but it is also awful for his sons and daughters and on the whole family.

This is a carryover from the last day but the witnesses will have to look at the top off price of €3,000 for cows. The price of stock is outdated and farmers cannot replace them.

I do not know what will happen with TB forum but at the moment it is losing the battle. Farmers are doing everything they can do. We are doing everything we are being asked to do but the stakeholders forum is losing the battle. It is getting worse. There are more outbreaks and the outbreaks are getting worse. We can talk about badgers and everything but the bottom line is that it is getting a lot worse. The breakdowns are getting worse.

It was said the cow spreads it, but the cow gets it from somewhere else and then she spreads it. They are blaming all sorts of things now like robot milking machines and all of that. I do not buy into that. I am sorry but there is something wrong.

I just have some quick-fire questions. How much has been spent on badger vaccination programmes and everything in last ten years? That is one quick-fire question. How much?