Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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On 30th September the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) published a report on the Bovine TB Eradication Programme as part of the Report of the Accounts of the Public Services 2024. The examination was undertaken to review:

• the factors that contributed to the recent increase in the incidence of bovine TB in Ireland,
• whether the programme is operating as intended and is efficient in its use of resources, and
• how my Department evaluates the effectiveness of the programme in the achievement of its objectives.

The report acknowledges Ireland's long-standing bovine TB eradication programme, which has protected international markets for Irish beef and dairy products and safeguarded public health. It also recognises the increasing disease levels and the associated increased programme expenditure by the Exchequer, and makes four recommendations.

I welcome the C&AG’s report and acknowledge its recommendations.

On 9 September I published the Bovine TB Action Plan, “Addressing Bovine TB in Ireland”. The aim of this Action Plan is to reset the bTB programme in the context of putting in place measures necessary to tackle the current disease situation, with the ambition to eradicate bTB.

The recommendations in the C&AG report complement the aim of the Action Plan, which is to drive down the existing high levels of bTB to a level where we can begin to discuss a timeline for the eradication of this disease again.