Cathy Bennett (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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719. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if his Department has considered the potential benefits that the development of detection of infected animals among bovines vaccinated with the TB vaccine could play regarding Ireland's TB eradication programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25361/25]

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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The main Global body of research on developing a vaccine for tuberculosis in bovine animals is being carried out by Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) in the UK.

My Department continues to engage with colleagues in DEFRA and is monitoring this very closely. To date the biggest issue with a vaccine for cattle has been the lack of availability of a test that is capable of distinguishing between an animal that is truly infected and one that has been vaccinated.

The candidate vaccine, CattleBCG, a BCG strain, has shown in past studies to reduce TB severity in cattle. Whilst offering promise, it needs further testing however to determine its effectiveness in field conditions.

A DIVA (differentiating infected from vaccinated animals) skin test has now also been developed to distinguish between infected and vaccinated animals, addressing the issue of false positives to tests caused by BCG vaccination. This test too, however needs validation and if validated and approved, will be crucial for the effective use of CattleBCG, aligning with international standards set by the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH).

Field trials are underway to evaluate the safety and performance of both this vaccine and the DIVA Test. Phase 1 assessed this test in unvaccinated cattle, while Phase 2 focused on safety in vaccinated cattle. Phase 3 will expand these tests to more herds.

The latest phase (Phase 2) of the TB vaccine field trials has concluded. Phase 3 will aim to gather more data on the DIVA test's ability to accurately identify non-infected cattle and improve its performance. Phase 3 will also involve testing BCG vaccination and the companion DIVA skin test on a wider range of herds.

It should be noted that if the research is successful, a significant number of legal and international trade obstacles remain to be surmounted before a vaccine for tuberculosis in bovine animals can be used as part of our bovine TB eradication programme.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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720. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine whether a farmer has an option available to him or her to have blood samples taken by a registered veterinary surgeon from bovine animals that they own and are registered to the herd number where they are identified as herd keeper, and have those blood samples tested by an approved laboratory in the state for bTB; if there are any limitations preventing this course of action by his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25423/25]

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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721. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if his Department has approved any laboratories in or outside the State in which an individual farmer can have blood samples tested that have been provided by them at his or her own expense for the presence of bTB; to confirm how the approval status of these labs are made known to the farming public; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25424/25]

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 720 and 721 together.

The bTB eradication program is approved as an official category B disease under the EU Animal Health Law.

Under this legislation, there are two officially recognised tests to detect infected cattle, which are the tuberculin skin test and the gamma interferon blood test. The tuberculin skin test is carried out by approved private veterinary practitioners and the gamma interferon test is carried out only in approved laboratories.

As these tests are used for official disease eradication, these tests can only be carried out under the supervision and approval of my Department.

Paul Lawless (Mayo, Aontú)
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722. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if the Department has sufficient resources in place to address the significant increase in bovine TB cases since 2015; if the Minister will provide reassurance to farmers who are increasingly concerned on the ground; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25457/25]

Paul Lawless (Mayo, Aontú)
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725. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine whether his Department has reviewed or is currently reviewing its bovine TB strategy in light of the rising incidence rates since 2015; and if the Minister will outline any proposed changes or enhancements to the current approach. [25460/25]

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 722 and 725 together.

Bovine TB is a challenging disease to control and eradicate. In recent years, bTB levels have continued to deteriorate. Our bTB Incidence rate in 2015 was 3.37% compared to 6.04% in 2024.

As of 11 May 2025, over a 12 month period we had a herd incidence of 6.30% with over 42,200 reactors. I am committed to making real progress in eradicating bTB because I am acutely aware of the emotional and financial trauma associated with a bTB breakdown for farmers.

At the February meeting of the TB Forum it was agreed that all stakeholders would provide proposals on new measures for inclusion in the TB programme aimed at reducing TB levels in cattle against the backdrop of surging disease levels.

At the TB Forum on 26 March all stakeholders were provided the opportunity to present proposals on draft measures to be incorporated into the TB programme to address the recent increase in disease incidence over the last number of years.

Following this meeting the Chair of the Forum wrote to me in early April outlining discussions at the meeting.

On 8 May 2025, I held a TB Summit with key stakeholders where discussions were held on the most effective ways to mitigate the impact of bTB on farm families and to reduce herd incidence and spread of the disease.

At this meeting I presented 30 actions underpinned by 5 key pillars to address the current rates of bTB:

1. Support herds free of bTB to remain free
2. Reduce the impact of wildlife on the spread of bTB
3. Detect and eliminate bTB infection as early as possible in herds with a TB breakdown and avoid a future breakdown
4. Help farmers improve all areas of on farm biosecurity
5. Reduce the impact of known high risk animals in spreading bTB

Paul Lawless (Mayo, Aontú)
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723. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to outline the staff resources allocated to the bovine TB programme for each year from 2015 to 2024, under the headings of veterinary inspectors, technical agricultural officers (specifying roles such as wildlife or other), farm relief service operatives involved in the wildlife programme and administrative staff in the Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25458/25]

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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The information requested by the Deputy is not readily available in the format requested. My Department is committed to ensuring that a skilled and motivated workforce is in place to meet its priority business needs. To achieve this, workforce planning is utilised in identifying and addressing the needs for all our locations.

All critical staffing vacancies are filled as soon as possible when suitable candidates become available, considering the balance of needs and resources across my Department.

Recruitment is currently underway in my Department to fill vacancies through the standard recruitment mechanisms and my Department aims to minimise any delays in finalising assignments.

Paul Lawless (Mayo, Aontú)
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724. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to provide the cost to the Department of vaccinating each badger under the wildlife programme in 2024; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25459/25]

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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It is readily feasible to apportion the cost of vaccinating or culling an individual badger. The expenditure on services and supplies supports the overall Badger Capture and Vaccination programme and cannot be apportioned between the capture and vaccination projects.

There are fixed costs and variable costs in relation to the wildlife programme. which vary from year to year depending on the level of activity in both capture and vaccine areas. The levels of activity are heavily dependent on factors such as weather, abundance of food sources etc, and so change from year to year.

Variable costs associated with the wildlife programme will rise in accordance with the numbers of badgers vaccinated or removed and will fall when less badgers are vaccinated or removed. Variable costs would include, but is not limited to disposables such as test kits, restraints, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), disposal etc.

In 2024 my Department spent €9,171,367 on the wildlife programme