Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 3 July 2024

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Statement of Strategy 2023-2026: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine

5:30 pm

Mr. Martin Blake:

That is the gist of it. There is significant work going on in the UK. We were involved in supporting that two or three years ago, and the UK has taken it to another level now. As Mr. Gleeson said, there are two issues with the vaccination of cattle. First, that is not seen as doable under the current trade rules. That is based on the older situation where vaccination interfered with the TB test and also the ability to differentiate between infected animals and vaccinated animals. However, an alternative test that will do that differentiation has been developed in the UK. It is still in the early stages of development. A research paper published a couple weeks back indicated the new test could work. However, more work will need to be done on it. Ultimately, if there is a vaccine available and it does not interfere with our ability to identify infected animals and does not interfere with trade, it is a definitely a tool we need in our toolbox.