Tim Lombard (Fine Gael)
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I have one more question, Chair. I am under time pressure. The TB issue my colleague raised was a really important statement.

Three of us here today remember the famous Dr. Margaret Good, a formidable lady, informing us there would be a strategy and that the problem would be all sorted by 2030. That has not quite happened. The Department's eradication programme has been going since 1957. We will probably never eradicate TB but it is still called an eradication programme. Even the terminology around this needs to be reconsidered. We must be honest with ourselves that it will be a control programme rather than an eradication programme. A terminology change would give an indication of where the Department is at right now.

The figures have gone one way. In my part of the world, in Curra, which Mr. Callanan probably knows, the numbers have gone absolutely crazy, with 500 reactors this year alone. It is crazy stuff altogether. We need to approach things with a logic that we will seek to control the disease rather than eradicate it. We cannot eradicate it in wildlife. In some parts of Ireland, deer are a huge issue. Badgers are a problem in my part of the world. Without controlling the wildlife, we will not be able to control the disease itself. It is always going to be about having a control mechanism rather than an eradication mechanism.

Regarding vaccinations, we are mainly dealing with breeding animals. That is the issue. The numbers in particular dairy herds have increased. As a result, the numbers of reactors pertaining to those herds have gone through the roof in some locations. As a farmer whose herd is locked up every second or third year, I am very much aware of the stresses arising from this situation. A change in process is needed from the Department.