DEAR EDITOR,

The TB income supplement scheme is supposed to compensate farmers for loss of income when they have an outbreak of TB.

In my case, I lost 30 cows, one bull and four dry cattle to TB between February 2023 and August 2023.

The farm organisations agreed to a new income supplement scheme in February 2023.

This was supposed to be backdated to the first of the month for any farmer who was restricted during the month of February 2023. The Department paid me the old rate of income supplement between 7 June 2023 and 15 February 2024.

I have contacted the Department on several occasions, and they tell me that their IT system is not updated and cannot calculate the difference between the old and new rate.

According to my calculations, I am entitled to an additional €7,302.

I would like to say special thanks to TJ Maher, chair of the Animal Health Committee of the IFA for his great help and advice on my TB journey.