The chief executive of Lakeland Dairies, Colin Kelly, has suggested cross-border funding could be used to help deliver actions to reduce bovine TB on farms either side of the Irish border.

Writing in January 2025 farm notes sent out to Lakeland members, Kelly pointed out that TB does not respect borders and is a cause of enormous emotional and financial pain for farmers.

“We need to see greater levels of action to reduce incidence rates,” he wrote.

“We believe the incoming [Irish] Government should establish a cross border fund through the Shared Island Unit to address TB comprehensively,” Kelly said.

A Shared Island Unit in the Department of the Taoiseach co-ordinates the initiative, with €500m originally made available in 2021 for investment in North/South projects between 2021 and 2025.

In recent years, the fund has been utilised in a number of projects impacting farmers, including a cross-border peatland restoration project, which is also part-financed by government departments both sides of the border.