Mr. Conor O'Mahony:

I will provide a high-level overview and Dr. Barrett can come in on the more detailed questions. The first key action is preventing spread from herds with a high risk of recurrence. These herds have difficulty getting free from TB restriction. It is about using tools such as gamma interferon testing to flush out as much infection as you can and educating and informing herd owners of the steps they can take to reduce the risk of recurrence through biosecurity. This means that if they replace stock, it should be bought from lower-risk herds. Herd management and management of the disease will reduce the risk of future recurrence. The second key action is enhanced actions to clear infection from extended breakdown herds - they can run together. Much of this is based on data such as the profile of the herd, more regular testing in addition to gamma interferon and continuous programmes around those herds. The third key action is addressing the risk from inconclusive animals. Historically, if a farmer had an inconclusive result and the animal subsequently passed the test, that farmer could trade on the animal. That could potentially have passed on infection because the animal was inconclusive. A policy change in that area was that such an animal was restricted to that herd for life - it could not move on. We have also encouraged additional testing. When subject to a blood test, 60% of animals that tested inconclusive proved to be positive. It is about proving inconclusive animals are an additional risk and ensuring that they are taken off farms. The fourth key action is action plans from areas with increased localised TB levels. Certain parts of the country are hotspots with high levels. We call them HIT plans to increase testing and examine the causes in these areas. We focus resources on those particular areas to reduce TB as quickly as possible.