Seán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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80. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when a balancing payment will be issued to a person (details supplied) regarding the loss of a number of cattle within their herd to tuberculosis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4237/15]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The holding of the person concerned was restricted under the TB Eradication Scheme on 19 September 2014 following the identification of 24 reactor animals at a herd test completed on that date.

It has not been possible to pay reactor compensation provided for under the TB Eradication Scheme because (i) the herdowner concerned initially rejected the independent valuation of the animals concerned and has subsequently refused to participate in the Arbitration process which was established to deal with such cases and (ii) there are unresolved discrepancies in regard to a number of animals registered in the herd.

In relation to (i), my Department has been in correspondence with the herdowner on a number of occasions in the recent past with a view to including his appeal in the next available Arbitration hearing. A response is awaited. As regards (ii), in response to a number of requests from my Department in recent months, documentation was received by the relevant Regional Office on 27 January and this is being evaluated.

The question of payment to the herdowner cannot be advanced until the matters outlined above have been satisfactorily resolved.