Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. To answer his question directly, the last thing farmers need is a further increase in the spread of TB. That is the root cause of all of this stress and concern, which the Deputy has articulated very clearly and on which I completely agree with him. My job is to provide leadership and to bring farmers with us. Everybody is going to have to do a little bit more here. That includes my Department and its officials as regards my budget. We are all going to have to do a bit more as we change our approach to TB.

As the Deputy will know, bovine TB is a very challenging disease to control and eradicate. Levels have continued to deteriorate in recent years. Herd incidence has increased from 4.31% in 2022 to 6.04% in 2024, resulting in a 36% increase in the number of herds restricted between 2022 and 2024. As of 22 June of this year, over a 12-month period we had a herd incidence of 6.43 %. In 2024, it was 6.04% and it is now 6.43% with over 43,455 reactors. This disease is having an impact on farmers and their families both financially and emotionally throughout rural Ireland.

As the Deputy will know, following extensive discussions at the TB forum, I met with TB stakeholders on 8 May and farming organisations and key stakeholders on 22 May with a view to agreeing an action plan for bovine TB based on the most effective ways to mitigate the impact of bovine TB on farm families and to reduce herd incidence and spread of the disease. At these meetings, I presented five key pillars to address the current rates of bovine TB. The first was to support herds free of bovine TB in remaining free. The second was to reduce the impact of wildlife on the spread of bovine TB. The third was to detect and eliminate bovine TB infection as early as possible in herds with a TB breakdown to avoid future breakdowns. The fourth was to help farmers improve all areas of on-farm biosecurity and the fifth was to reduce the impact of known high-risk animals in spreading bovine TB. I will provide further answers in my supplementary responses.

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