Bovine TB levels rose by 3% in 2014, up from the record low of the previous year. In all, there were 16,145 reactors, an increase of 533 for the year.

Wicklow is by far the worst blackspot. There were over 1,000 reactors in East Wicklow, with a per thousand test reactor rate of 8.85, up from 5.03 in 2013. Wildlife is a significant problem in Wicklow, with both badgers and deer carriers of TB.

Other regions with noticeable levels included neighbouring Wexford and west Wicklow, both up.

In contrast, Carlow had the lowest TB levels in the country, with only 31 reactors in the county all year, an incidence level over 20 times lower than in nearby East Wicklow.

Clare and Kerry were two other counties with a noticeable increase in Bovine TB levels.

The figures must be looked at in the context of steadily reducing TB levels over the last decade. The 2014 reactor numbers are over 2,000 lower than the 18,476 that occurred in 2012.

There were almost 26,000 reactors in 2005. That said, no one wants to see an upward trend develop.

IFA’s Animal Health spokesman Bert Stewart said that the Department of Agriculture needs to act on the proposals put forward by IFA last year to reduce hardship for TB-affected farms.