Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue has suggested that no new TB measures will be introduced to try to curb rising reactor numbers unless they have the backing of farming organisations.

Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal on Thursday, Minister McConalogue insisted that TB controls remain “very much guided” by stakeholders sitting on the Department of Agriculture TB forum.

“It’s been very disappointing to see the trend in the past year and, of course, it’s causing immense stress to every farmer that has been affected, but central to all of this is the TB stakeholders forum, because we need the scientific as well as the farming representatives to lead out on this,” the Minister said.

“And I will be very much guided by them. They are looking at this in detail and they have been monitoring the different steps we have taken and I am looking to them for leadership in how we can actually step this forward together.”

TB reactor number increased in 2023 to a 10-year high as 5,500 more cattle went down in testing than had done in 2022 and with 4.89% of herds seeing a new TB restriction imposed in the 12 months up to the end of December.

Department position

Department of Agriculture officials responsible for administering the TB eradication programme have repeatedly suggested that farm organisations’ reluctance to accept new control measures are holding back progress on stamping the disease out.

Officials told the forum’s scientific working group last year that “new approaches need to be considered” in light of continually rising TB metrics from 2018 onwards, with successive sittings of the Oireachtas agriculture committee hearing that stricter controls are required.

These officials claim that although “building blocks” are in place to lower disease incidence, these controls do not have stakeholder support.

These measures include a regional approach to eradication and cattle buyers being informed of disease risk, with incentives for lower-risk trading and disincentives to higher-risk trading.

Spend not ideal

The Department’s spend on TB is at a historic high, surpassing €74m in 2023, which represents a hike of almost 30% on the year previous.

When questioned on whether there is a risk that taxpayers may demand to see progress in disease trends when the TB programme’s spend is growing, Minster McConalogue commented that efforts are ongoing to keep costs in check while providing supports for farmers whose herds went down.

“Ideally, no one wants to be spending the money that we’re spending on TB, farmers most of all,” he said to the Irish Farmers Journal.

“What we want to see is the reactor numbers reduce, but we have to support farmers in the meantime and I have kept the budget and that means an increased budget to respond to that, but the biggest focus we have is to bring TB numbers down and bringing the budget down.”

The Minister responded to recent criticisms of the programme shifting the focus on badgers away from culls and towards vaccination by stating that wildlife is “one aspect” of disease transmission, but “you have to a look all aspects” of the disease when considering rising reactor numbers.