Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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574. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of TB reactor cattle on Irish farms from 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2024, by county; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9509/25]

Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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575. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of farms with TB reactor cattle from 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2024 located in an area that is neighbouring land belonging to a controlled finishing unit or feedlot; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9510/25]

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 574 and 575 together.

Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is a challenging disease to control and eradicate. I am committed to making real progress in eradicating TB because I am acutely aware of the emotional and financial trauma associated with a TB breakdown for farmers.

Provisional figures show that a total of 6,254 herds were restricted in 2024 - note this figure may be subject to change.

As part of the TB eradication programme, beef finishing herds experiencing a TB restriction, provided they meet the necessary criteria, are allowed to avail of a special status, termed “Controlled Finishing Unit (CFU)”.

A CFU herd is a specialised finisher of beef that does not engage in the active breeding of animals. It is a non-breeding herd which disposes of all cattle on the holding direct for slaughter and poses a minimal risk of infecting cattle on adjacent holdings by fulfilling at least one of the following three criteria:

(i) the cattle must be permanently housed (zero grazed), or

(ii) there are no contiguous cattle herds, or

(iii) the pasture is walled, double fenced or equivalent to prevent nose to nose contact with cattle on a contiguous holding (all grazing fragments must be fenced to this standard for herds designated as CFUs). If this standard of fencing is not in situ on other fragments, a separate herd number will be required for animals on those fragments(s), and

(iv) a separate herd number(s) will be required for land parcels that extend beyond 32km from the home farm.

• movement of infected cattle with undetected infection.
• residual infection in cattle previously exposed to TB.
• spread across farm boundaries from infected cattle to uninfected cattle.
• indirect spread through other biosecurity breaches, and/or
• spread from infected badgers to uninfected cattle.

Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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576. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine for an update on his Department's IT issues which are affecting ACRES payments to thousands of farmers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9511/25]

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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ACRES is the first scheme of its kind to upscale results-based payments to a national level. This is a significant change in implementing such an innovative and ambitious scheme, and it has come with complexities and challenges.

To date, more than €436 million has been paid out to farmers to date in respect of their participation in ACRES.

In respect of advance payments scheduled to commence in November 2024, some €189 million issued to 43,822 farmers. This is 81% of all farmers applicants.

Advance payments to the remaining applicants are being processed on a fortnightly basis, as issues are resolved.

Some 94% of 42,000 ACRES applicants have received a payment in respect of their participation in ACRES in 2023. Of the remaining cases, almost all have already received an interim payment of either €4,000 or €5,000 in mid-March 2024. In many instances, this covered the entire payment due. Where the interim payment does not cover the entire amount due, work is underway to ensure that any remaining payments are finalised and issued as quickly as possible.

While there are always challenges in the initial implementation of a Scheme, progress is being made and the resolution of issues now will contribute to a more streamlined implementation from now on.

Certain issues such as transfers of contracts, late or non-submission of scorecards, and alignment of ACRES information with data held by the Department on other IT systems, have contributed to the delay in the making of payments where they have occurred. Work is ongoing to resolve these issues, and every effort is being made to process outstanding payments as quickly as possible.

This reflects the progress that has been made in the delivery of the required IT systems.

As is the case with all EU co-funded schemes, claims for payments under ACRES must pass regulatory controls and validations before payment can issue.

My Department is continuing to investigate and progress all cases that have not yet received payments. As these are resolved, they are added to the next scheduled pay run. Fortnightly pay runs are taking place to ensure that these payments are issued in a timely manner. I can assure you that everything is being done to pay, as soon as possible, all ACRES participants who clear the required pre-payment validation checks.