asked the Minister for Agriculture if he will comment on the recent report regarding the curtailment of TB testing, in view of a statement in the Dáil on 17 April 1986 that every effort would be made to provide extra money to complete the full round of testing.
Written Answers. - Curtailment of TB Testing.
51.
There has been a number of press reports recently on the consequences of the reduced financial allocation for bovine TB eradication in 1986 because of the tight overall budgetary situation. These reports have failed to take adequate cognisance of the exceptional intensity of testing throughout the 1985-86 round just ended or of the nature of the 1986 programme which commenced on 21 April. This programme, by correlating testing activity with disease prevalence, is designed to give the best return in terms of identifying reactor herds and reducing disease spread; it is also capable of expansion in the event of extra resources becoming available and, with this in mind, the position is being kept under continuous review.