The Department of Agriculture handed down a total of 60 TB testing suspensions to vets for failing to adhere to correct TB herd testing procedures during inspections since 2022.

These suspensions ranged in duration from just two weeks to three years, with the length determined by the severity and the nature of the non-compliances uncovered.

2026 is on track to see the highest number of suspension orders issued over recent years as there were already 10 vets who had been stopped from carrying out herd tests in the year-to-date up to 21 July.

The highest number of suspensions recorded over previous years had been 14, the number recorded across the whole of 2023 and 2025.

Farmers whose herds were incorrectly TB tested by vets may see these herd test results invalidated by the Department.

The recoupment of any fees paid by farmers to vets in these cases is a matter between the individual farmer and the individual vet, according to the Department.

Previous figures supplied to the Irish Farmers Journal show that up to half of the vets suspended were repeatedly non-compliant and that the number of herds tests conducted by suspended vets in the 12 months prior to the detection of a non-compliance gets into the thousands.

“High-quality testing is of critical importance to the bTB programme,” the Department told the Irish Farmers Journal this week.

“This monitoring aims to ensure the consistent application of uniform standards across the country, to function as a safeguard in relation to the maintenance of high standards of testing.”