Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

In his opening remarks, the Deputy alluded to the cost of the TB eradication scheme since its introduction in the 1950s. It is a staggering amount. My own figure is in the region of €5.5 billion in today's money to take out approximately 2.5 million reactors in that period. It is a devastation that visits farmers if their herds go down with it. If we continue to do the same thing that we have been doing by and large since we introduced the TB scheme, we will be here in 2050 and will have the same level. I note the Deputy's observations about the stated ambition to get rid of it by 2030. If we keep doing the same things that we are doing by 2030, we will not get rid of it. That is why the challenge for the TB forum is maybe to step out of its comfort zone and see what steps we could take, difficult though they may be to contemplate, that would drive us to meet that ambition. That ambition will deliver for all farmers if we achieve it and it is a significant task to have set that TB forum. I welcome the work that it is doing and await its reply with interest.

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