TB or not TB - That is the question for Limerick Farmers after 70 years

THE ICMSA and IFA appeared before the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture to raise key issues on the eradication of bovine TB.

Deputy president of ICMSA, Lorcan McCabe said the presence and prevalence of bovine TB after “70 years and counting” of continuous TB eradication programmes was a “damning indictment of official oversight and efforts”.

He said the latest eradication programme seemed “condemned to repeat the mistakes and inaction that had given us several decades of missed opportunities and often ruinous expense for farmers”.

“It should be a matter of embarrassment to us all that we still have not eradicated this and certainly ICMSA wants a new drive and determination on this. But we’re not sure that others actually grasp the extent of this problem and the overwhelming need to really go at the outbreaks themselves and the measures that we know are contributing to the outbreaks,” said Mr McCabe.

The very first thing we have to do is front-load the resources towards farmers suffering outbreaks, he said.

“Farmers afflicted have to know and trust that the official response will not penalise them for doing the right thing. The fact that we have to point this out at all is bizarre, but that’s the reality.

“A similar logic dictates ICMSA’s position on inconclusiveness: everyone knows that we have argued for years for the removal of ‘inconclusiveness’. We stand by that; it’s a proven fact that the presence of inconclusiveness’ inevitably leads to increased positives. The data shows that, therefore we need to get the ‘inconclusiveness’ out with all attendant expense borne by the department.

They should be happy to do that because it’s actually going to save them money further down the line,” said Mr McCabe.

He said the least that the State can do is revise upwards the income supplement to €90 per cow from its present and “wholly inadequate €55”. ICMSA also wants a TB loan repayment break to be available similar to the recent Covid-19 break.

The IFA animal health chairman TJ Maher said the eradication of TB within the shortest feasible time frames must be the objectives.

“As farmers, we have had to endure the burden of TB controls, associated costs and income loss for too long. However, achieving this must not be based on the simplistic approach of tightening controls on farms and increasing the cost burden on farmers.

“The most effective tool we have at our disposal to reduce the levels of TB and ultimately achieve eradication is the Wildlife Control Programme.

“This programme has been severely hampered in the past due to the lack of resources provided for it,” said Mr Maher.

Enhancements to the wildlife programme have been agreed which include updating the location of sets and the proactive implementation of the programme in advance of major infrastructural works.

“Achieving eradication of TB will take time and throughout this process as farmers we will continue to experience controls on our farms and animal losses all of which add to the financial burden.

“The compensation schemes must be enhanced to ensure all losses are fully and fairly compensated for, this includes animal values, income loss and additional costs associated with the prohibition on the sale of animals,” said Mr Maher, who made the point that Irish farmers contribute in excess of €55m annually to the TB programme.

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