Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein)

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. Tá an cheist atá ardaithe agam, a bhaineann le cúrsaí eitinne, ag déanamh an-imní d'fheirmeoirí ar fud na tíre. Go deimhin, is cúis imní é ar fud an oileáin os rud é nach dtuigeann sé aon teorainn.

I raise an issue which is of great concern to farmers across the Thirty-two Counties and knows no boundaries, that is, TB eradication. I ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Marine, Deputy Simon Coveney, to clarify the levels of TB on a county by county basis, the reason levels are high in County Clare, west Cork and east Wicklow and how active is the Department's wildlife programme in removing TB infected badgers in these areas. It is of huge importance to the farming community that bovine TB be eradicated. I note that the Sinn Féin Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development in the North, Ms Michelle O'Neill, appeared before the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine on 3 July and outlined that the eradication of bovine TB was a top priority for her in her ministry. I am aware that the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Marine is of the same mind. The approach adodpted in the North is to test live badgers, vaccinate and release those which test negative for TB and remove those that prove positive. Therefore, the focus is on removing diseased badgers and protecting those which are not infected.

The reason I raise the issue is that I have been speaking to people in farming circles who are concerned about a possible upsurge in the level of bovine TB across the island. They are concerned at the high levels of TB in County Clare, west Cork and east Wicklow. If the Minister is in a position to provide the figures on a county by county basis, as requested, it will be clear whether their fears are well founded. Perhaps he might outline the Department's wildlife programme to remove infected badgers from these and other areas across the island and if the necessary resources are in place. There is a fear that there may be a shortage of personnel in the areas mentioned and that this is leading to infected badgers not being removed. Is í sin an cheist atá mé ag cur ar an Aire Stáit. Tá mé ag súil go mór leis an bhfreagra atá aige dom.