Deputy Noel Treacy has been given permission to raise on the Adjournment the question of serious problems being experienced by farmers in County Galway as a result of TB eradication. Deputy Treacy has 20 minutes.
Adjournment Debate. Bovine TB Eradication Scheme.
I thank the Chair for giving me an opportunity to raise this matter on the Adjournment. We have been fighting this case on behalf of the farmers for a long time. The Department do not seem to recognise the difficulties being encountered by the farmers and the grave risk to their livelihoods that TB eradication is having. There are six parts of the county that are very badly affected. One is the Portumna — Ballygrissane area which consists of the district electoral divisions Nos. 250, 251 and 254. About 7½ per cent of all the herds in this area are affected with TB reactors. A total of 26 herd owners in this area north of Portumna have been the victims of this disease.
The second area badly affected is an area south west of Ballinasloe in the Clontuskert/Kiltormer/Cappataggle area within the district electoral divisions Nos. 233, 234, 236, 237 and 238. About 14 per cent of all the herds in this area are reactors. The third area is an area north east of Ballinasloe which is the Ahascragh / Kilconnel / Ballinamore Bridge/Newbridge areas, district electoral divisions areas Nos. 215, 217, 218, 219, 220, 222 and 232. About 7 per cent of all the herds in this area are affected. The fourth area is an area north of Tuam, the Milltown/Dunmore/Kiltevna area in the district electoral divisions areas Nos. 190, 194 and 195. The fifth is an area south west of Loughrea, the Aille/Kilcreest/Peterswell and Gort areas, district electoral divisions areas Nos. 280, 299, 300, 301, 303 and 320. Twelve per cent of all the herds in those areas have been affected. The sixth area is the district electoral divisions of Oughterard and Letterfore in the Connemara area of County Galway where the incidence is 15 per cent. Other areas like Bullaun and Killimordaly are also affected. The national average of affected herds is in the ratio of one to 400 approximately and in Galway it is one to ten. This is very serious and disastrous for Galway farmers. Some of them are in such a bad financial state that they may never recover and may have to opt out of farming and either dispose of their lands or let their lands. It is now proved conclusively that 50 per cent of all the farmers who now find themselves in serious financial difficulty had diseased herds at some stage of their careers. Surely this is proof positive of an urgent need for proper and adequate compensation for farmers finding themselves the innocent victims of this dreadful disease.
While I appreciate the opportunity of raising this matter, I want to express my disappointment that the Minister for Agriculture is not here. The man charged with responsibility for administering the affairs of the Department who at Cabinet level could have made, should have made and must make a case to ensure that the funds are made available to provide adequate compensation for the farmers who have to take all the risks in their careers and their livelihood in order to survive, that man is not here. This Government and this Minister are not prepared to listen. I am disappointed to learn also that the Minister of State with responsibility for western development, particularly a man representing the Galway East constituency, has not been sent here tonight to deputise for the Minister for Agriculture. He should be in touch with this situation. He has been in communication with the farmers but he has turned a deaf ear to them. I appreciate the attendance here of the Minister of State, Deputy Hegarty. It is not his area of responsibility, but I appreciate his coming here to listen and I hope he will take the message back to the Minister, to the Department of Agriculture and to his Minister of State colleague, and that between now and the return of this Dáil in the next session they will come back with a proper package for farmers throughout the country who have been victims of this eradication scheme through no fault of their own.
I would like to make some recommendations to the Minister of State to take to the Department and to his senior Minister. (1) It is vitally important that we have a uniform tuberculin used in injecting all animals for TB testing. (2) There must be uniform reading and interpretation of the results and effects that these uniform tuberculins will have on our bovine animals. (3) The removal of all reactors to the factories must be under departmental supervision and must be immediate. This would entail proper departmental liaison with the veterinary surgeons and proper arrangements with the meat factories through the Department for acceptance of reactors on a regular basis. (4) The Department must insist on factories paying the maximum price for reactors, especially for the uncontaminated parts of the reactor carcases. Farmers are frequently paid minimal prices for reactor carcases, and much of these carcases goes for human consumption and the only effect on this consumption is the reactor stamp which the carcase bears. Farmers are often ripped off in this way and it is past time that the Department had a constant adjudication and monitoring of this situation. The factories are not paying the proper price for contaminated or reactor carcases. (5) The Department must organise the collection of reactors and ensure that there are special days weekly for the acceptance of these reactors by the factories, and all the factories should be in a position to accept them. At the moment some factories will take reactors for a certain period and other factories may not take them at all or may take them for a short period. It is vital that there be a day in each factory when the Department will supervise the collection of reactors, get them into the factories, supervise the killing of the animals and supervise the adjudication and grading of these carcases to ensure that the maximum prices are paid to the farmers. (6) All places of killing, be they factories or slaughter houses, must be monitored consistently by the Department. I do not think that the conditions operating and prevailing in some of these slaughter houses and factories are up to the full standard and in some centres negligence may lead to the constant, ongoing spread of this disease. (7) The Department must tighten their controls on the transport and disposal of offal. We often see offal transported through the country in open lorries. This is bound to have a certain effect in contaminating and polluting the air. Also offal is often spread on land adjacent to streams and rivers. This must give further cause of spread of disease and contamination of the lands, rivers and streams, not to mention its effect on fish and wildlife. It seems that in this area there is no departmental control.
It is high time that the Department of Agriculture computerised their records to ensure efficient administration of the TB and brucellosis eradication schemes, particularly TB. The district veterinary officers should be in a position to press a button, read a farmer's herd, its track record and the various problems it has had over the years and, based on that information, necessary action should be taken to eradicate the disease, remove the reactor animals and ensure that proper payments are made based on prior payments and current prices of livestock in the livestock marts and factories.
The Department should make grants available for proper boundary fencing, particularly in hilly and lowland bog areas where major difficulties are encountered by farmers trying to maintain boundary fencing. The Department have given very simplistic reasons for the high incidence of disease in the county. They blame fragmented holdings. It is natural that we have fragmented holdings where the farms are so small, the topography of the soil so varied and the quality of the land so indifferent. The Department blame bad boundary fencing, too.
The Department also blame the high density of mixed livestock farming throughout the county for the high incidence of disease. In a county where the farms are small, where the quality of the land is so indifferent and the dependence of many people on agriculture is high, it is obvious that farmers must have a mixed farming set-up, particularly a mixed livestock farming set-up. Consequently, we see many farmers involved in both dairying and raising stores. It is inevitable that, with two or maybe three different patterns of farming, farmers are at a greater risk. The Department also blame common access roads. Anybody who knows the midlands and other parts of the country but particularly the west where the land is so indifferent and the farms are so small, knows that common access roads are inevitable. The west is not privileged to have the big, open farms of Kildare or of the eastern or southern parts of the country, consequently farmers there use the same access roads. The Department have given all these reasons, but have failed to ensure that where a local farmer has a reactor herd the adjoining farmers will have an immediate test. I know of and can quote cases where farmers have requested tests and have not got those tests. One farmer in the county had consistent TB and his adjoining neighbour asked for a herd test. The Department refused that test. The man held a private test on six animals out of about 50 and one of his animals went down. Immediately the Department conceded a herd test which revealed ten reactors and eight of these were eight of his 13 dairy cows. This man is going to suffer a major loss this year. Last year he supplied 8,500 gallons of milk; this year that could be reduced to about 2,500 gallons. How can that man survive and make a living and look after his wife and family in that situation? I know of other farmers who have been paid as little as £28 and £30 for weanlings and young stock.
A farmer may have a suckler herd on which he is totally dependent for his livelihood. If some of those animals go down as reactors, that farmer has no hope of survival unless there is adequate compensation from the Department. Many farmers in Galway are in dairying and the county has a very good record. In the case of a farmer with a medium or small herd it would take two to three years to breed or purchase replacements. A farmer may not be in a position to buy replacements since he may not be able to meet repayment commitments. His credit may not be good enough to borrow more money and the grants are inadequate.
Some farmers may lose their total herds. A man in that position might have to wait 60 days or more before he can buy back any animals. If most of his herd went down he would definitely be tied to that situation. If he has a varied farm he will not be able to buy sheep because the land will not be suitable and he must wait to buy cattle. The grants are not good enough and he loses three to six months grazing and becomes financially embarrassed. He may never recover. I know of one farmer in the Portumna area whom I would regard as one of the best farmers in the country. He has a medium-sized farm and his loss in 1984 as a result of reactors was £12,000.
The Department have failed to recognise the contribution by the badger to the spread of TB. They will not acknowledge that the badger is playing a major role and has the same traits and qualities as a bovine animal. It is vital that the Department carry out proper research and pinpoint the areas where badgers are doing damage so that they can be eradicated quickly by giving farmers the necessary licences. There is too much red tape involved in getting a licence and the Department should be in a position to have the badgers extinguished urgently in the interests of TB eradication.
I appeal to the Minister and to the Department to ensure that adequate compensation is made available now and that proper social welfare payments are made to farmers who are the victims of this disease over the period of recovery from the depopulation of their herds and the removal of reactors. A farmer must look after his wife and family and remain a viable unit within the economy. He is entitled to the same type of benefits and assistance as people in other walks of life. It is vitally important that the Minister of State should go to the Minister for Agriculture and the Department and arrange if necessary for the introduction of a Supplementary Estimate in the autumn to ensure that farmers in County Galway and throughout the county receive adequate compensation for all reactors and diseased animals which have to be disposed of until the country is disease free.
I am aware that there is a serious outbreak of bovine TB in the south eastern part of County Galway and I can assure the House that I and my officials are seriously concerned about the problem.
On a point of correction, I have responsibility for disease eradication, not the Minister of State, Deputy Connaughton. The Minister for Agriculture has important engagements and I am standing in for him.
The areas most seriously affected comprise three district electoral divisions north of Portumna and four district electoral divisions south of Ballinasloe. I have to emphasise that the seriousness of the problem is confined to these particular areas, not the county as a whole.
To keep this particular problem in perspective I would have to say a few words about the TB and brucellosis eradication scheme as a whole.
There has been very little progress for several years in reducing the level of TB. This situation clearly pointed to the need for a fresh approach if we were ever to be rid of this disease. It was because of this that very substantial funds have been set aside for disease eradication during the period 1985-87, £85 million to be exact. This funding was conditional on the introduction of basic changes in the old eradication scheme. As a result of the negotiations earlier this year with the Veterinary Union the new regime is now in operation. This new regime is giving us more prompt and more rapid testing and the disease is being tackled systematically on an area or block basis. Under the new system, swift and effective action can be taken by the district veterinary offices, in co-operation with veterinary practitioners and farmers, to ensure that testing deadlines are met.
Increases in the reactor grants for lighter cattle as well as improvements in the terms of the depopulation fund have also been introduced, as well as a scheme for stock replacement for farmers who have to depopulate their herds due to heavy disease infestation. These improved compensation arrangements provide a considerable degree of additional relief to herdowners whose herds become infected.
The increased financial allocation and the renewed drive against TB are evidence of the Government's determination to rid the national herd of the disease. Our new approach can provide the basis for significant progress and I believe that the full round of testing now going ahead will show good results.
As regards Galway the overall incidence in the county is approximately 3 per cent of herds which reflects the national average. In the problem areas already mentioned, where there is a higher than average incidence, intensive testing has already been carried out this year and will continue to be carried out during the coming months. I am satisfied that this campaign of intensive testing will bring the TB levels in the problem areas under control.
Serious concern has been expressed by herdowners that badgers have been a cause of TB breakdowns of herds in these problem areas. An investigation into this possibility has already been undertaken by my Department. This investigation has taken the form of the capture and humane killing of badgers under the supervision of the local district veterinary office staff and the carrying out of subsequent post mortems and laboratory tests. This investigation is still in progress and my officials would expect to be in a position to evaluate the results within the next few months.
I am confident that the planned intensive testing programme which has already commenced and which will continue during the coming months in these problem areas under the supervision of the district veterinary office will achieve the control and eventual eradication of TB from the affected herds. This sort of intensive testing programme has been used successfully in other areas where exceptional levels of TB infection were encountered.
If the investigation into the badger problem should show beyond doubt that badgers are a factor either in spreading TB or preventing its eradication in the area, then we will consider how best to set about reducing the badger population to more manageable proportions.
I would urge herdowners in these areas to give their full co-operation to the DVO staff. The completion of an intensive testing programme as rapidly as possible requires their co-operation and I am confident that the farmers themselves will help in any way they can. Farmers must co-operate with the Department. I agree with Deputy Treacy's remarks regarding the removal of reactors. I suggested recently that farmers, in conjunction with the marts, should carry out the collection of diseased animals which could be done in a proper, supervised manner. I am looking at a number of options at present which would help but there are problems which will take a little while to solve.
The Deputy mentioned bad prices and we are looking at the possibility of conducting a slaughter sale for diseased animals on a trial basis. Obviously such animals would have to end up in a meat factory as they could not be brought back to farms. Most slaughtering is done under supervised conditions. Any other sort of slaughtering would be surreptitious and could not be condoned.
Deputy Treacy also mentioned the problem in regard to offal. There is no mystery in the spread of disease. It is spread by birds picking up offal and carrying it to other farms. I have suggested that there should be a primary processing of offal at our major meat plants. The Deputy also mentioned a computer service and we are at present tendering for a computer which we hope to have in operation in about six months.
Many problems with regard to common access roads can be overcome by farmers getting together and admitting that they have a problem in regard to disease——
What satisfaction or compensation will they get for doing that?
If one farmer admits that he has a problem we will take cognisance of the point made by the Deputy in regard to having neighbouring herds tested. For instance, perhaps the farmer who has a diseased herd could keep his animals off the road until he gets the all clear. When an infected herd is identified all contiguous herds will be tested as soon as possible but I must reiterate that until we get the full co-operation of the farming community, the problem will not be solved. We have improved all levels of grants——
Many farmers do not qualify for these grants.
Where the incidence of disease is fairly high, many farmers do qualify. However, the important thing to recognise is that there is a problem and then we can set about solving it.
The Minister referred to two different areas of the county. The DVO in Galway accept that there are six black areas in the country. Can the Minister give any indication that efforts will be made to provide sufficient funds to supplement existing veterinary staff by about four people and the administrative staff by about six? Can the Minister give a commitent to the farmers that money will be made available this year to supplement the meagre grants which they are receiving for reactors at present?
Of course I am prepared to look at the staffing numbers but the grants are already laid out for this year and it would be dishonest to say that we could do something specific in this regard.
So there is no hope?
The Dáil adjourned at 10.20 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Wednesday, 10 July 1985.