Minister’s TB Proposals Off the Mark

IFA Animal Health Chair TJ Maher said the draft proposals circulated by the Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon in advance of today’s so-called ‘TB summit’ still have some distance to travel to meet farmers’ requirements, and what the TB programme needs, to reduce the levels of TB.

He said the Minister for the most part has persisted in seeking to lay the additional cost and burden on individual farmers.

“Yesterday IFA published a report completed by ifac which showed that TB is costing farmers over €150m per annum. A lot of the Minister’s proposals would put extra costs on farmers,” he said.

“This includes the extension of restrictions and blacklisting of herds. This places the burden on farmers who through no fault of their own are enduring TB outbreaks on their farms,” he said.

TJ Maher said if agreements are to be reached on enhancing the TB programme in a way that will make a meaningful difference, the Minister and his officials will need to change their direction of travel in this area.