Animal Diseases
Dail Éireann — 2026-05-14
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Martin Heydon (FG), Kildare South

I thank Deputy Cooney for raising what is a significant issue, not just for farmers in County Clare but also for their counterparts across the country. The straight answer to a straight question is that I do believe eradication of TB is possible and is something that can be delivered. However, there was no way it was going to be delivered by means of the trajectory we were on up until last year, when we were seeing an exponential growth in numbers of reactors and herds impacted. The definition of madness is doing the same thing and expecting a different result. I was not willing to do that, which is why I spent all of last year engaging with farm stakeholders, representative bodies, vets, professionals throughout the industry and my officials to draw up a new plan based on science and to have that clear intervention that would give a very clear roadmap for those farmers in a perpetual cycle of bovine TB outbreaks and reactors who see no light at the end of the tunnel. A total of 94% or 95% of farmers who were free of bovine TB were petrified before the annual test every year and were hoping to avoid the disease. The new TB plan gives us the opportunity to move the dial, turn the tide, stop this significant increase and get it on that trajectory where we can get back to talking about eradication with real credibility. That is what I have sought to do here.
Regarding the TB herd incidents in County Clare, on a 12-month rolling basis as of 3 May this year, it has reduced by 4.2% in County Clare compared with 4.34% at the same time last year. This compares well with the national TB herd incidence, which has also shown a reduction on a 12-month rolling basis. As of 3 May, it stood at 5.4% nationally. Obviously, Clare is 1.2% lower than that. The 5.4% nationally compares with 6.29% at the same time the last year. Bovine TB is an ongoing challenge for Irish farmers. I am acutely aware of the emotional and financial stress it causes farmers, farm families and rural Ireland, which is why we are imposing the various measures.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-05-14/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:56+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-05-14