Following a meeting with Department of Agriculture last week on the TB programme, IFA animal health chairman Bert Stewart accused the Department of failing to take account of the huge financial effect the loss of animals has on individual farms.

Stewart said that the Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney must immediately intervene to address the issues identified by the IFA in the detailed submissions made to him. These changes, which significantly reduce the burden of the TB programme for farmers, are within the minister’s power and can be provided within the current budget allocation.

He said the proposed changes from the Department represent nothing more than a redistribution of existing programme costs, do not utilise the full budget allocation and show no understanding of the turmoil caused by TB episodes at farm level. The rates of payment in the programme have not changed in over 20 years and this is unacceptable.

He said that the Department of Agriculture accepts the losses calculated by the IFA in relation to dairy cows, suckler cows and other animals on a monthly basis of €117, €49 and €29, respectively. But it has proposed a reduction to the depopulation grant of €12/month for dairy cows, while only increasing the level of income supplement to €45, leaving suckler cow rates unchanged. Furthermore, he said the Department’s refusal to provide consequential loss payments to herdowners losing less than 10% of their animals is a fundamental flaw in the existing programme and must be addressed.

The IFA chair said the Department has proposed reducing the valuation prices for dairy cows by an average of €134/head. This is a retrograde step and at odds with the strong advice given to farmers in relation to the value of EBI and its importance in identifying the most productive and profitable animals.

In relation to the purchase in restriction, Stewart said it is not fair or acceptable that the livelihoods of these farmers is being taken away by the Department to draw down €14m in EU funding towards the compensation scheme, while providing no financial support to the farmers affected most by the controls.

If the Department of Agriculture is not in a position to allow these farmers to stock their farms, full compensation for losses incurred must be paid.