Speaking at a meeting of the Select Committee on Agriculture Tuesday 8 December, in the Houses of the Oireachtas, Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney revealed his ambition to eradicate TB from Ireland.

“TB is making phenomenal progress,” Minister Coveney said. “It is my ambition to eradicate it by 2030 out of the herd. We are now actively talking about eradicating the problem entirely. My plan is to keep the pressure on it and focus the effort in Wicklow.”

There has been a 40% reduction in the number of TB reactors since 2008. This year saw a further 7% decline in reactors compared with 2014 levels.

This came in response to a query from committee chairman Andrew Doyle. The Wicklow TD pointed out that the cost of a robust plan to solve the TB problem related to deer in Wicklow would be only a mere fraction out of the €6m saving in expenditure on TB this year.

Deer

The Department of Agriculture has yet to reveal what percentage of deer in Co Wicklow tested positive for TB in a second round of tests.

TB to be eradicated by 2030 - Coveney

Despite the fact that TB continues to be a major problem, mainly in Co Wicklow, Minister Coveney is confident that the disease can be eradicated by 2030.