Trevor Sargent
Question:114 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the cost to date of the tuberculosis eradication programme; the breakdown of such costs; and the success to date of the programme. [26011/02]
Written Answers. - Bovine Diseases.
Since the launch of the TB eradication scheme in 1954, and the brucellosis eradication scheme in 1966, the combined expenditure, at current cost, for both schemes up to the end of 2001 has totalled €1,275 million. The expected cost for 2002 is approximately €72 million. It is not readily possible to break down the cost of each scheme due to the fact that the majority of TB tests and the brucellosis tests are undertaken simultaneously.
In assessing the level of expenditure on the TB eradication scheme I would refer the Deputy to the results of a cost-benefit study undertaken in 1991 which covered the period from 1954 until the establishment of ERAD in 1988. According to the study, the total quantified benefits, not including human health benefits, were estimated to amount to 7% of total cattle and milk output in 1988. It also found that the minimum benefits of the scheme were estimated to have exceeded costs by 86% and the rate of return was calculated at 15.5%. Overall the study suggested that the scheme was highly beneficial for the national economy.
The initial policy when the TB scheme was introduced in 1954 was to eradicate bovine TB from cattle herds and this still remains the objective. Significant progress was made in the earlier stages of the scheme but the progress has stalled, albeit at a relatively low level of the disease, and more than 99.5% of the national herd remains free of TB. Important short-term objectives are to ensure that the incidence of the disease is reduced to the minimum level attainable so that markets, in particular export markets, are not jeopardised and so that there is no serious threat to human health. Efforts are also continuing to develop new technological tools which would address obstacles to further progress.