The Department of Agriculture has confirmed that it intends to end pre-movement testing later this year, but was unable to provide a specific date. This could take place as early as next week at the National Ploughing Championships.

Ireland has had officially brucellosis-free (OBF) status since 2009 and has been scaling back brucellosis testing since then, with the annual test being discontinued at the start of this year.

Ireland is now brucellosis-free, with the Northern Ireland (NI) Minister, Michelle O’Neill announcing on 9 September that the EU had given the green light for NI to have OBF status as soon as the decision is published in the Official Journal of the EU. This usually takes a few weeks. NI has already started reducing its controls programme with testing moving to a biannual basis from an annual test in June this year.