Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon’s plans to reboot the TB eradication programme by introducing a raft of tighter disease control measures must receive the backing of Government ministers leading out on next year’s budget if they are to take effect.
Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal, Minister Heydon said that while he wants to move “very soon” on tackling the worsening bovine TB trends, there are “significant budgetary implications” with his proposals that need this wider Government backing to ensure the required funds materialise.
Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe and Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers are among those that the agriculture minister must win over with his new TB proposals.
“It’s a warning to all farmers, the fact that with the amount of money that’s involved with this, I need budgetary approval to do it because it’s not just for this year, it has very significant impacts on next year’s budget and I need to have approval to that,” Minister Heydon said.
Proposal
He said that although the proposals “definitely have travelled a journey” with farming organisations and he has “taken on board a lot of their proposals”, he does not “second guess that they will support it”.
“You know, people support it, I just need them to let me do it. This is something that’s too important, and every farmer will get that,” he said.
His Department is still carrying out modelling on the expected impact of the final draft proposals on TB disease trends. Central to wooing over farming organisations will be commitments on wildlife, farmer support and more blood testing, he said.
“What I’m doing is making sure that the commitments I’m looking to give here around extra investment and personnel in the area of wildlife, the increased blood testing and what’s involved there, the increased biosecurity measures and supports
for farmers.
“I want to be able to show that if I’m asking farmers to do more on their side, particularly those who have reactors at present, I want to be sure that I can deliver whatever promise on my side.”
Read more
TB reactors up by 32% in the past 12 months
Overhaul of TB measures proposed
New TB measures coming 'soon'
Department to scrap pre-movement TB testing proposal for suckler cows
Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon’s plans to reboot the TB eradication programme by introducing a raft of tighter disease control measures must receive the backing of Government ministers leading out on next year’s budget if they are to take effect.
Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal, Minister Heydon said that while he wants to move “very soon” on tackling the worsening bovine TB trends, there are “significant budgetary implications” with his proposals that need this wider Government backing to ensure the required funds materialise.
Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe and Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers are among those that the agriculture minister must win over with his new TB proposals.
“It’s a warning to all farmers, the fact that with the amount of money that’s involved with this, I need budgetary approval to do it because it’s not just for this year, it has very significant impacts on next year’s budget and I need to have approval to that,” Minister Heydon said.
Proposal
He said that although the proposals “definitely have travelled a journey” with farming organisations and he has “taken on board a lot of their proposals”, he does not “second guess that they will support it”.
“You know, people support it, I just need them to let me do it. This is something that’s too important, and every farmer will get that,” he said.
His Department is still carrying out modelling on the expected impact of the final draft proposals on TB disease trends. Central to wooing over farming organisations will be commitments on wildlife, farmer support and more blood testing, he said.
“What I’m doing is making sure that the commitments I’m looking to give here around extra investment and personnel in the area of wildlife, the increased blood testing and what’s involved there, the increased biosecurity measures and supports
for farmers.
“I want to be able to show that if I’m asking farmers to do more on their side, particularly those who have reactors at present, I want to be sure that I can deliver whatever promise on my side.”
Read more
TB reactors up by 32% in the past 12 months
Overhaul of TB measures proposed
New TB measures coming 'soon'
Department to scrap pre-movement TB testing proposal for suckler cows
SHARING OPTIONS