Holly Cairns
Ceist:908. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on immediately reconvening the tuberculosis forum; and if he will chair the process. [24164/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraTuesday, 15 September 2020
Ceisteanna (908)
Freagraí scríofa
I plan to reconvene the TB Forum at the earliest opportunity. I am eager to work with stakeholders in developing a shared understanding of the steps necessary to reduce TB levels to the benefit of Irish farmers.
The Forum was established in September 2018 and presented an interim report to Minister Creed in 2019. The report contains a suite of proposals designed to reduce TB which I understand had broad stakeholder support at that time.
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 to manage the risk more effectively across all transmission routes.