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

I thank the Deputy. I am aware of the financial and emotional impacts and challenges for Irish farmers, their families and rural communities presented by a bovine TB breakdown. In recent years, there has been a significant increase in bovine TB levels nationally. To address these high disease levels, I have undertaken extensive engagement with stakeholders and farm organisations to agree measures to tackle them.
I launched the Bovine TB Action Plan: Addressing Bovine TB in Ireland in September. It includes five measures and 30 actions underpinned by scientific research, evidence and veterinary expertise. Those five pillars are: to support herds free of bovine TB to remain free; to reduce the impact of wildlife on the spread of bovine TB; to detect and eliminate bovine TB infection as early as possible in herds with a bovine TB outbreak and avoid a future outbreak; to help farmers improve all areas of on-farm biosecurity, and only this week I opened and launched a €6 million scheme whereby farmers would be available to avail of practical supports around fencing off badger setts on their holdings and raising water troughs as well; and to reduce the impact of known high-risk animals in spreading bovine TB.
The aim of the action plan is to reset the TB programme by putting in place measures necessary to tackle the current disease situation. On 13 April, a number of changes were introduced to animal testing and animal movement requirements under the bovine TB programme to reduce the transmission of bovine TB from cattle to cattle. I recognise that this is a big change farmers and is the first real manifestation they are seeing of the new plan in action. I thank in particular the marts, which have tried to help in communicating this new understanding. Those changes on 13 April include: the removal of the post-movement test option for all cows and for males over 36 months of age; all dairy cows moved into a breeding herd now requiring a 30-day pre-movement test; a 30-day pre-movement test for contract-reared heifers; the gamma interferon, GIF, test in large breakdowns of breeding herds; and a restriction on the sale of exposed cohorts where GIF testing is carried out in larger breeding herds for a period of time.

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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