Tim Lombard (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I wish to raise the issue of where we are currently in our tuberculosis allocation. This is a really significant issue in my part of the world. In the past six months, the tuberculosis reactor rate has increased by 22%. The current levels of tuberculosis in Cork in a bovine herd have gone through the roof.This is causing terrible stress and hardship for the families. As I was walking to the Chamber, I received a phone call from a neighbour who a TB test done on his farm today. He lost ten cows. I met another man in Timoleague who had 52 reactors found during the week. The numbers are frightening.

A few points need to be made. We are experiencing an outbreak of TB across the country that we cannot control. It will get a great deal worse because if there is TB in the bovine herd going into housing, God knows how it will react and spread through the herd when the herd is housed. We will see the levels of TB increase dramatically next spring, which will have a huge financial impact on family farms and the co-operative societies. It will cause unbelievable mental trauma for farmers to have their stock taken away to be slaughtered. Members of the veterinary community coming into the yards of farmers they know very well may have to put down a large percentage of their herds as reactors. That is another trauma in the system.

The TB eradication programme, which started in the mid-1950s, has been a failure. Despite increased levels of funding, it has not dealt with the issue. We will never eradicate TB from Ireland and to call it a TB eradication scheme loses the focus. At best, it is a TB control scheme aimed at trying to control the problem. We need a debate in the Chamber with the Minister for agriculture because we need to ensure staff are provided to deal with the issue. We have eight vacancies on the wildlife side, which means we do not have the personnel on the ground to deal with it. I have farmers who are under financial, physical and mental pressure because of what has happened to their herds in the past few months.