Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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125. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the ceilings which apply to the on-farm market valuation scheme for animals removed from farms arising from the TB Eradication Programme; the basis upon which ceilings are calculated; the cadence at which they are reviewed; the time they were last reviewed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57506/25]

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.

My Department provides a range of financial supports that focus on compensating farmers for both direct and indirect losses incurred as a result of a TB breakdown on the farm. The primary support scheme is the On Farm Market Valuation scheme where animals removed as reactors receive compensation subject to scheme ceilings equivalent to their market value in the event they were not disclosed as TB reactors. The scheme ceilings are set out in SI 759/2024 Animal Health and Welfare (Bovine Tuberculosis)(Amendment) Regulations 2024. In the period up to 31 August 2025, of the 24,724 animals valued under the On Farm Market Valuation scheme, just under 97% of animals were valued below the scheme ceilings.

As part of the work of the TB Forum, a dedicated Financial Working Group was established to review the financial modelling of various elements of the Bovine TB Eradication programme. As a result of the agreement reached in this Group in 2023, there were rate enhancements to the Income Supplement Scheme, the Hardship Grant and the Depopulation Grant as well as enhanced ceilings for select animals being removed as part of the On Farm Market Valuation Scheme. In addition, the Financial Working Group also expanded the eligibility criteria under the Income Supplement Scheme and Hardship Grant Schemes.

Due to the increased cost of the bTB programme in recent years, the focus at present is on reducing the levels of disease which will reduce the impact of bTB on Irish farm families and reduce the cost of the programme which has risen to over €100 million in 2024.

Robert O'Donoghue (Dublin Fingal West, Labour)
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127. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if his Department has conducted, or plans to conduct, an assessment of the impact of avian influenza on non-avian species, including domestic animals; if there has been any evidence of transmission between species in Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57548/25]

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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My Department leads the One Health All Ireland for European Surveillance (OH-ALLIES) project which has received EU funding to set up a coordinated surveillance system under the One Health approach for cross-border pathogens that threaten the Union. One of the strategic objectives of this project is to establish infrastructure and processes allowing enhanced surveillance of influenza in Ireland in order to inform public health responses and enhance pandemic preparedness.

Several surveillance studies are being conducted to monitor avian influenza infections across a range of wild mammals and domestic animals, including cattle and other ruminants. Thus far, the project has completed over 3,600 Influenza A tests in wild mammals, domestic animals, and the environment. To date, only antibodies have been detected in wild mammals, with no evidence of active viral infection.

In 2021–2022, Ireland confirmed the first cases of H5N1 highly pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in two foxes using molecular diagnostic methods. The viral sequence identified in the foxes showed a high degree of similarity to that of the H5N1 strain detected in a barnacle goose collected next to the foxes.

In cattle, sheep and other ruminants, neither antibodies nor avian influenza viral RNA have been detected, therefore there are no indications of avian influenza exposure or infection in these populations.

My Department publishes up to date information on avian influenza on the Government website at www.gov.ie/birdflu