Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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863. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the legal obligations placed on farmers to facilitate TB inspections in the event that a neighbouring farm has positive cases; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51465/22]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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Under current EU and national legislation all herds must undergo at least one annual herd screening TB test. Under SI 58 of 2015 Animal Health and Welfare (Bovine Tuberculosis Regulations 2015) herdowners are legally obliged to co-operate with a direction to present animals for testing.

In herds, however, where disease is suspected or confirmed, this will result in additional tests until my Department is satisfied that all relevant TB measures specific to that herd / area have been fulfilled. Further risk-based TB tests are also deployed as an effective means of finding disease and thus preventing onward spread of undetected infections.

One such risk-based test is based on research that has shown that herds contiguous (neighbouring) to a herd that is experiencing a TB breakdown, have a statistically higher risk of having TBand generally require additional testing.