The chairman of Lakeland Dairies has said Ireland appears “further away than ever” from eradicating the “national scourge” of bovine TB, a disease that threatens the viability of exports.
Ongoing efforts to stamp the disease out are crucial to securing Ireland’s access to European and world markets and, by extension, protecting farm incomes.
Earlier this month it was claimed the equivalent of the cost of the national children’s hospital has already been committed with an aspirational date for 2030 already set as Government policy for eradication.
However, in a letter to Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon, Niall Matthews warned of the deteriorating situation faced by many of the 3,200 farming families supplying the co-op.
“The emotional and financial turmoil associated with a TB breakdown in a farmer’s herd is incredible,” he said.
“The annual routine of a herd going on test and the reading three days later brings worry, uncertainty and unimaginable stress. Unfortunately, we are seeing a worrying trend develop with TB incidence rates increasing. We appear further away than ever from the ambition of achieving a TB-free status.”
[ Bovine TB Q&A: What is it and why is it increasing? Opens in new window ]
Mr Matthews was writing to the Minister to invite him to next month’s Milk Quality Awards and took the opportunity to raise a number of key issues including the protection of the nitrates derogation and generational renewal in the farming sector, a “real area of concern”.
Bovine TB rates reached a historic low in 2016 but have been rising since. As well as animal health, the eradication programme in Ireland is chiefly concerned with ensuring farmers have the requisite herd health status for access to export markets for both beef and milk.
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In the Dáil this month, Mr Heydon acknowledged that disease levels had continued to deteriorate. Compensation to farmers reached €20 million in the first four months of this year, compared to the same outlay for the entirety of 2020.
Sinn Féin agriculture spokesman Martin Kenny said the current estimated cost of the national children’s hospital – well over €2 billion – had already been committed in attempts to eliminate the disease, largely without success.
The Programme for Government includes a review and update of the National TB 2030 Eradication Strategy in collaboration with farmers and industry.
The cost of the current eradication programme has escalated considerably in recent years, with previous official estimates rising to a total expenditure of about €1 billion by 2030.
