Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 11 December 2018

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Ireland's TB Eradication Programme: Discussion

3:30 pm

Mr. Eoin Ryan:

That was an example of great research carried out by Teagasc. There was much discussion earlier about how we want what we are doing to be driven by data and research, and we have got value from that research, which was carried out by top-class Irish researchers. It is an example of Teagasc doing great work. One of the outcomes from the research was that there is more variation within breeds than between them, that is, the difference of the bull is much more important than the difference between a Holstein, a Hereford or a Limousin. It was an important question because it is often asked whether a Limousin or Charolais, for example, is more susceptible, but the outcome was that the bull drives the susceptibility much more than breed variation.