Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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735. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will engage with farm organisations on proposed changes to rules regarding TB; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25561/25]

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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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 26th 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 8th May 2025, I held a meeting of key stakeholders to address the deteriorating TB disease levels 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