Mary White (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
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Question 163: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the number per annum, since 1997, of all reactors that were false positives. [44591/08]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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My Department's Bovine TB eradication programme is based primarily on the diagnosis of disease using the Single Intradermal Comparative Tuberculin test (SICTT), which is generally referred to as the TB skin test and which is an EU approved test. I should explain that no test is 100% accurate and the 'sensitivity' and 'specificity' of the skin test is a function not just of the test itself but also of the environment in which it is used.

The sensitivity and specificity of the skin test has been assessed under Irish conditions as 91-98% sensitivity and 99.8-99.9% specificity and is considered to be a highly accurate test. More recent research indicates that the specificity of the test as performed in Ireland is at least 99.95%. At the specificity level indicated, for each 1,000 tests performed in the course of the eradication programme, between 0.5 and 1 non-infected animal is expected to be deemed a reactor. There is no method currently available to isolate such individual animals from the routine TB infected reactors detected under the programme. This test limitation is recognised under the EU Directive 64/432/EEC, which allows a rapid de-restriction of herds which are deemed to be not infected following epidemiological and laboratory investigation. My Department operates a 'Singleton Protocol' policy to accommodate such cases. The outcome for herds under this policy has been evaluated for 2005 and 2006 and a paper has been prepared for peer-reviewed publication. Some 5.5% of the 6,386 herds restricted under the eradication programme for 2006 were derestricted early under this protocol.

Mary White (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
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Question 164: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the rules which govern the disposal of reactors; and if penalties for non-compliance have been imposed during the past ten years. [44592/08]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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A key objective of the TB eradication scheme is the prompt removal of reactor animals direct to a designated factory for slaughter. My Department currently arranges and pays for a national reactor collection service to remove reactor animals from holdings. In general, reactors are removed within one week of acceptance by the herd owner of the valuation attributed to the animals through the independent valuation process and generally within 3 weeks from the date of test.

In order to promote compliance with the policy objective of my Department, the rules governing the payment of compensation to herdowners for reactors provide for a reduction in valuation or compensation payments where farmers are responsible for delays in the valuation process and/or the removal of reactors/depopulated animals. These reductions to valuation payments are as follows:

5% where delay is 3 – 5 days

10% where delay is 6 – 10 days

25% where delay is 11 – 15 days

50% where delay is 16 – 21 days

100% for any longer period.

In addition, if a herd owner has not moved a reactor off the holding within fourteen days of a formal notice having been served, my Department may take control of the reactor and dispose of it as appropriate.

In general, herd owners cooperate very well in facilitating prompt valuations and speedy removal of reactors in the interests of disease control. However, there have been some instances over the years where herdowners failed to cooperate in this process and penalties have been applied to compensation payments where appropriate. Since records on the number of cases involved are not currently maintained centrally, the information on the precise number involved is not readily available.