Colm Burke (Cork North-Central, Fine Gael)

I thank the Minister. As I outlined and as the Minister said, between 2022 and 2024, there was a 36% increase in herds restricted. That is a huge increase. More than 6,000 farmers have lost 40,000 productive animals within a short period. The breakout of TB has a huge effect, especially in my area, a lot of which is urban but is also rural, where there are large dairy farms. When TB hits a dairy farm, the level of restriction that has to be put in place and the economic and emotional effect on a family are horrendous. Recently, I saw figures of farmers losing about €130 million in real terms because of the TB problem. As the Department is putting in more than €100 million, there is a huge loss to both the State and the people directly involved.

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