Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney said the money will go towards carrying out on-farm risk assessments for up to 1,700 farmers and 300 new entrants.

The assessment involves the examination of five elements of farm management: animal movement history, calf management, heifer management, cow management and management of the calving cow.

When on-farm risks are identified, the vet and farmer agree a number of changes to combat the problems.

"The ultimate aim of this pilot programme is to establish a voluntary national programme for Johne’s Disease which enables participating herd owners to demonstrate the absence of this disease from the majority of herds and, where disease is found to provide a programme that will control and ultimately remove the disease from that farm," said Minister Coveney.

"The work being undertaken as part of this final phase of this pilot initiative will guide the future Irish Johne’s Disease programme. In this respect, I am urging industry to continue its good work towards establishing the best programme possible to suit its own future needs”.

Read more: How to control Johne's disease on dairy farms