Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 15 September 2020
139. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the intended purpose of issuing bovine tuberculosis herd history herd risk letters to farmers; the cost involved in the process; and his plans to work with farmers to eliminate bovine tuberculosis. [23966/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraHerd Test History Statements and Reports issued to all cattle herdowners with the aim to help them to reduce the risk of Bovine TB in their herds.
The Bovine TB Forum Interim Report identified the need to provide more effective information to farmers to help them reduce the risk of TB in their herd and advocated for the development of herd risk categories that are “simple, clear, and convey sufficient information to enable farmers to make the decisions appropriate to their situation”. Against this background, the Department developed individualised reports that provide a simplified TB herd risk category for farmers, with herd-specific advice on how to reduce risk of TB. All advice is based on scientific research and is consistent with advice that has been provided by the Department for several years in newsletters, videos, leaflets and other media. Farmers are already provided with information in relation to their TB risk, but this new report presents this in a very much more user friendly, detailed and practical form.
I have listened carefully to the concerns raised by some farmers following the issuance of these letters and am eager to schedule a TB Forum meeting at the earliest opportunity to further develop a shared understanding of how collectively we can reduce TB incidence.
Following many successful years of reducing bovine TB levels to the benefit of Irish farmers, there has been a concerning incremental increase in the disease since 2016. This has continued in 2020 with further increases in herd incidence and reactor numbers observed. Herd incidence (on a 12-month rolling basis) has breached 4% for the first time since 2012 and reactor numbers have exceeded 20,000 – the highest number since 2009. These trends highlight the need for urgent action by all stakeholders to manage the risk more effectively across all transmission routes.
The TB Programme costs over €90 million each year and my Department expects its contribution to the Programme in 2020 to exceed €50 million. Expenditure at these rates may result in a further €1 billion being spent on TB between now and 2030 unless disease rates can be substantially reduced. Expenditure on the herd history letter was considered as an important investment in aiding the eradication objective by providing clear information to herdowners. This information allows them make informed decisions that can reduce their herd's TB risk.
A breakdown of the cost associated with the letters is set out below.
|
|
Number of statements |
Overall cost incl VAT |
Unit cost |
|
Colour printing enveloping of TBHHR |
110,349 |
€60,256.79 |
€0.55 |
|
Postage cost |
110,349 |
€71,726.85 |
€0.65 |
|
Overall Cost |
110,349 |
€131,983.64 |
€1.20 |
