asked the Minister for Agriculture the action he is taking to deal effectively with the increase in the outbreak of tuberculosis in County Galway; and if he will give the statistics for the eradication of the disease during 1981 and 1982.
Written Answers. - County Galway Bovine TB Eradication.
634.
The steps being taken to deal with the bovine tuberculosis situation in County Galway are the same as those which operate in other counties. In the main, these consist of restriction of infected herds, slaughter of reactors, notification of owners of adjoining lands and check-testing of their herds, re-testing of infected herds and, in 1982, an intensive programme of testing of herds in problem areas.
The effectiveness of those procedures may be measured by the decline of bovine tuberculosis incidence in County Galway herds from 3.2 per cent at the end of the 1981-82 round of testing to 1.4 per cent over the first four months of the current round.