Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Thursday, 14 Feb 2002

Vol. 548 No. 4

Written Answers. - Animal Disease Controls.

Trevor Sargent

Ceist:

38 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development the cost to date of the tuberculosis eradication programme; the breakdown of such costs; and his views on the success to date of the programme. [5009/02]

Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development (Mr. Walsh)

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 has totalled €1,275 million, excluding administration costs, up to the end of 2001. It is not possible to breakdown 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 that 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 objec tive. 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. However, given the experience in the past 30 years there is a recognition that the incidence of the disease in wildlife is a major impediment and that further technological advances will be needed to achieve further progress. 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.

In the context of the PPF, a package of measures was agreed with the objectives of reducing the incidence of TB by 50% over the four years of the programme. The numbers of reactors being disclosed has been declining since 1999 and this downward trend continued in 2001. The number of TB reactor animals for the year at less than 34,000 represents a decrease of 15% and 24% respectively on the corresponding reactor figures for 2000 and 1999.

Question No. 39 answered with Question No. 23.