Mr. Brendan Gleeson:

The Senator has hopped off a few things there. If there are things that keep me awake at night, he has mentioned at least two of them. The incidence of TB is increasing. It has gone to 5.13% from 4.89% or so at this time last year. It is a real concern. We have a TB forum that facilitates constructive engagement between the Department and farm bodies on how we address this. It is a concern, first because it is an extraordinarily difficult experience for people whose animals get this thing. It is a terrible experience for them. Second, there is a cost issue. This year we will probably spend €78 million on this. Third, it leads to complexities with trade. Certification of product to China, for example, is affected by TB rules. It is a really significant issue. I think we are at a point where we have to do something different. If we just keep doing the same thing and expect different results, that is not a great way to proceed. At the moment we are reflecting on what we might do. We intend to engage with farm bodies on that. People have to be able to work, live and trade. There might be solutions for this that might not be workable from a practical perspective. Take how we dealt with Covid, for example. We locked the country down. I am not sure that is a solution for dealing with TB.