John Perry (Sligo-North Leitrim, Fine Gael)

I thank the Senator for raising the important issue of the bovine TB eradication programme operated by the Department. I am responding on behalf of the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Simon Coveney.

The bovine TB eradication programme operated by the Department includes a comprehensive range of measures, including the mandatory annual testing of all cattle in the national herd, the early removal of reactors, the payment of compensation for cattle removed as reactors, implementation of a range of supplementary tests such as post-derestriction and contiguous tests, a wildlife programme and the depopulation of infected herds in some cases. These measures which are implemented uniformly across the country have proved to be relatively effective in recent years as evidenced by the significant reduction in disease levels in the past decade. For example, the herd incidence fell from 7.53% in 2000 to 4.18% last year, while reactor numbers in 2011 were, at 18,500, the lowest recorded since the commencement of the programme in the 1950s. Reactor numbers and the herd incidence have continued to fall in 2012.

The herd incidence in each county in 2011 is set out in the following annex. As can be seen from the table, the incidence ranges from a low of 1.88% in County Mayo to a high of 11.10% in east Wicklow. The incidence of the disease is relatively high in west and east Wicklow, where it is significantly higher than the national average. The incidence in counties Clare and Cork is also above the national average but not significantly so. TB is a complex disease and it is often very difficult to explain precisely why its incidence is higher in one part of the country than another. There are several factors at play, including environmental factors, residual infection and, of course, wildlife. It should be noted that the incidence of TB in these counties has been traditionally higher than the national average and the difficulty in eradicating TB from an area in which it has become entrenched may help to explain the continuing high incidence of the disease in these counties.

There has been, however, a substantial improvement in the position in some of the counties referred to by the Senator in the current year compared to 2011. For example, the incidence in east Wicklow has fallen by 35% from 11.10% last year to 7.15% this year. In fact, all of the counties referred to by the Senator have seen a reduction in the incidence of TB this year compared to 2011, although the reduction has not been as significant as in east Wicklow. The Department has devoted additional resources to Wicklow in the past year and is working very closely with the farming organisations and farming community in that county with a view to bringing about a further improvement in the situation there.

The TB eradication programme is scientifically based and the Department continues to monitor and review its effectiveness and efficiency on an ongoing basis in light of experience and research. In this context and having regard to the very significant improvement in the overall TB situation nationally, the Department reviewed the programme last year and concluded that eradication would require us to address all other potential sources of infection, including from neighbouring herds and the movement of high-risk animals, in addition to the emphasis which has been placed on badgers as a source of infection in recent years. There was also a recognition of the necessity that testing be conducted in a timely manner. In light of this, the Department introduced a number of changes to the TB programme earlier this year to prevent the spread of disease from infected herds to clear herds and to tighten up on overdue testing. These changes were made following a series of consultation meetings with farming organisations.

It is important to note that the changes are, first, based on research which points to the increased risks attached to the movement of certain animals and, second, designed to protect clear herds from buying in high-risk animals. For example, the restrictions imposed on the movement of inconclusive reactors is based on research which showed that standard inconclusive reactors which passed the retest and moved out of the herd, subsequent to passing the test, were 12 times more likely to be TB positive at the subsequent test or at slaughter compared with all other animals in the herd. Furthermore, the new controls on the movement of animals out of herds which are identified as contiguous to a herd experiencing an active high-risk TB breakdown are based on research which showed that the risk of such herds disclosing TB is almost three times greater than the risk in the case of herds tested on a round test.

Following representations from the farming sector, the Department has reviewed and made changes to the new arrangements. Herd owners will be contacted prior to restricting their herds under the contiguous testing programme. Herd owners who, for genuine reasons, negotiate a delay of up to one month with the district veterinary office prior to the overdue date will not have any penalties applied. In addition, herd owners who postpone their tests with the permission of the district veterinary office or are contiguous to a high-risk breakdown and are waiting for a test will be permitted to buy in animals for a limited period.

While we are very pleased with the overall improvement in the incidence of TB nationally, the Minister is aware that the position is less satisfactory in some areas. The Department's objective is to eradicate this disease and the measures introduced this year are designed to achieve that objective. The fact that TB is also endemic in the badger population has made matters extremely difficult, but I am satisfied that the Department is dealing with the issue in a very effective manner. That effort is largely responsible for the reduction we have seen in recent years. I am hopeful that we will see further progress in the coming years both nationally and in the counties referred to by the Senator.