Written answers
Tuesday, 14 October 2025
Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Animal Diseases
Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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120. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine for an update on the TB eradication plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54998/25]
Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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Bovine TB is an ongoing challenge for Irish farmers. I am acutely aware of the emotional and financial impacts of bovine TB on farmers, their families and rural Ireland. In recent years we have seen a significant increase in bTB levels nationally with over 6,000 farm families affected by a TB outbreak in 2024 and herd incidence was at 6.04%.
The Programme for Government commits to review and update the National TB 2030 Eradication Strategy by working in collaboration with farmers and industry.
Over the last few months, I have undertaken extensive engagement with stakeholders and farming organisations to agree measures to tackle the current disease levels.
On 9 September I published the Bovine TB Action Plan, “Addressing Bovine TB in Ireland”. The Action Plan is based on scientific research and veterinary expertise. There are five measures, which are underpinned by 30 actions:
- Support herds free of bTB to remain free
- Reduce the impact of wildlife on the spread of bTB
- Detect and eliminate bTB infection as early as possible in herds with a bTB breakdown and avoid a future breakdown
- Help farmers improve all areas of on-farm biosecurity
- Reduce the impact of known high-risk animals in spreading bTB
These measures are targeting both transmission between wildlife and cattle and transmission between cattle. It is vital that these measures are taken to reduce disease levels and to protect the livelihoods of farmers and rural communities.
I plan to introduce some of these measures immediately in terms of communication and engagement with farmers and others will be introduced over the coming months and on into 2026. Some of these measures require development work to IT systems and this is being prioritised. I will ensure that farmers and all stakeholders are kept up to date on the implementation of the actions in this plan.
I secured an increased budget allocation of €85 million for bTB in Budget 2026, providing a total budget of €157 million. This additional funding is vital in addressing this disease and I am confident it will help drive down the incidences of bovine TB levels in future years through the implementation of the Action Plan.
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