Minister Must Urgently Address TB Reactor Compensation Ceilings – IFA

IFA President Francie Gorman has called on Minister Martin Heydon to urgently address the compensation ceilings currently in place for TB reactors.

“As it stands, we are still in this farcical situation of farmers not being paid the full value for the animals that have been removed from their farms,” Francie Gorman outlined.

“Currently there is an upper limit of €3,000 in compensation a farmer can receive for a commercial TB reactor animal and a €5,000 limit for pedigree livestock.”

“However, the increase in the value of both dairy and beef livestock over the past 12 months means more and more farmers are not receiving the full amount an animal has been deemed to be worth,” he added.

“The department state that the live valuation given to an animal by valuers is a price the farmer would reasonably expect to receive for that animal if it was for sale on the open market disease free.”

“But how can they continue to hold that position given that their own self-imposed ceilings prevent this from occurring in more and more cases,” the IFA President continued.

“Minister Heydon and his department are asking farmers to sign up to a TB Action plan that will place a significant additional burden on farmers, but if he wants buy-in from the farming community then he needs to address the failings in the current system particularly the compensation ceiling and the unacceptable payment delays of recent months,” Francie Gorman concluded.