Bandon Mart manager and contract rearer Seán Dennehy said that the biggest impact of the TB testing changes on marts from next year will be on the cow trade and older animals.

“Vets are barely able to test what they’re testing at the moment. This is another expense on farmers, more of a workload for farmers and will make things awkward for marts,” he said.

Citing his own situation as a contract rearer, he said that if his animals arrive in February or March, he will have to retest them before they go back to the dairy farmer he is rearing them for.

“I’d be [out of test] by about three weeks before I could move them. It’s costing €1,200 to €1,300 to test what I have and I would have to add the same again on top of that,” he said.

David Quinn, Carnew Mart

David Quinn of Carnew Mart questioned whether the new rules will apply to farmers buying cattle in marts which will be going to the factory shortly after being bought.

“The amount of cattle sold over 36 months would be small, but the dry cow trade would be affected,” he said.

“It’s going to add a lot of cost. There is no real plus to it,” he said.

He added that if there was a really heavy push to test all cattle within a few months and remove reactors, it would have a better impact on TB.

“This is just treading around the edges, it will have no real impact on TB but to add costs to the system.

“It takes competition out of the trade. The cow market has exploded in recent years, the market, prices and competition has improved. There is clarity needed on this,” he said.

Kevin Caslin, Elphin Mart

Kevin Caslin of Elphin Mart told the Irish Farmers Journal that the new rules “are not going to suit farmers moving cattle in and out of their herds”.

“It’s not going to help them. There will be a certain cohort it will affect, it won’t really suit dealers.”

He said it will affect buyers and that buyers could well be put off by the new rules.