A total of 3,043 herds were TB tested over the course of 2023 by vets who would be found non-compliant with testing procedures last year, the Irish Farmers Journal can reveal.

In 2024, Department of Agriculture inspections of TB tests found that 13 of the 151 vets inspected fell short of the standards required.

Of these 13 vets, six had previously been deemed noncompliant with herd testing protocol.

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There were 80 such non-compliances concerning vets reported by Department TB test inspectors between 2019 and 2023.

The sanctions levied on vets not adhering to proper TB testing procedures depends on the seriousness of the breach and may include the invalidation of tests, the withdrawal of approval to conduct any more herd tests and referral to the Veterinary Council of Ireland.

Of the 13 non-compliant vets in 2024, sanctions ranged from undergoing retraining and having a second inspection, to suspension from carrying out TB tests for a period of 18 months.

The Department has not yet answered an Irish Farmers Journal query on what issues arose during inspection to deem the 13 vets non-compliant, but it did state that “high-quality testing is of critical importance to the bovine TB programme”.

“The Department encourages all farmers to insist on high quality bovine TB testing by the private veterinary practitioner who they have engaged to carry out the work to protect their herd from bovine TB,” a spokesperson said.

“Where a private veterinary practitioner fails to attend for a test the Department encourages farmers to report this to their local regional veterinary office (RVO).

“The Department engages with private veterinary practitioners and their representative organisations on an ongoing basis on the importance of high quality bovine TB testing.”