Brendan Griffin (Kerry South, Fine Gael)
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894. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if compensation will be made available to dairy farmers who have to cull their animals with BVD disease; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13760/14]

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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901. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason no compensation is given to small herd owners for the first calf removed from a herd for BVD; if he will consider extending this compensation to the first calf in herds of fewer than 20 suckler cows; the estimated extra cost of such a change to the scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13845/14]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 894 and 901 together.

The Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD) eradication programme, the statutory basis for which is set out in S.I. 118 of 2014, requires that calves indicating an initial positive or inconclusive reaction to a test for the BVD virus be removed from the herd. I have made compensation available to suckler cow farmers who have multiple cases of persistently infected (PI) calves in their herds in order to encourage the early disposal of these calves. The compensation scheme offers these farmers €100 for the second and subsequent calves removed from suckler herds to a knackery. The compensation is confined to suckler herds because the “payback period” in these herds is much longer than for dairy herds: it is estimated that the benefit of the eradication of this disease to dairy farmers will exceed the cost involved after a period of 6 months, compared with 12 months for suckler herds.

The provision of compensation for calves culled under the compulsory phase of the BVD programme must be placed in the context of the low value of these animals, the economic benefits accruing to farmers arising from the eradication of this disease and, particularly, the short payback time involved for individual farmers as well as the scarce budgetary resources available to my Department. It has been estimated that the overall benefit of the eradication of this disease is beneficial to farmers in the short to medium term.

I have no plans to change the existing compensation arrangements.

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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895. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine in view of the stated objective of his Department in supporting artisan food producers, if he will cover the cost of additional TB and brucellosis testing imposed on farmers who sell small volumes of raw milk to cheese manufacturers as in many instances the small volumes of milk involved and the cost of the current regime of testing makes it financially impracticable for farmers to continue to supply such artisan food producers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13777/14]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Suppliers of milk for the production of pasteurised product are required to undergo an annual combined TB and brucellosis test. Herds supplying raw cows’ milk for the production of raw milk product on the other hand are required to undergo two tests per year, to be carried out at six monthly intervals. This testing regime has been in place for a number of years. It is important to note that my Department will pay for additional testing which is over and above the normal level of testing required under the TB and Brucellosis Schemes.