The ICSA has warned the Department of Agriculture that farmers cannot pick up the tab for the loss of over €975,000 in funding for the TB eradication programme.

The EU Commission reduced funding to Ireland’s TB eradication programme for failing to meet targets.

ICSA animal health and welfare chair Hugh Farrell said the Department had allowed a narrative to emerge that Ireland was going in the wrong direction.

He said that while TB funding had remained at 2012 levels, the size of the national herd had increased.

It is only fair and logical that the Department contribution should increase

“You cannot plan for a 30% expansion in agri-food exports on the one hand and then assume that there will be no impact on costs on Department programmes such as TB,” Farrell said.

“So while the farmer contribution is increasing through testing more animals and through more levies, it is only fair and logical that the Department contribution should increase in line with the increase in agri-food exports to about €59m, all other things being equal.”

He said the ICSA was waiting to hear back from the Department on the breakdown of where the TB scheme administration was spent and added that the Department also needed to seriously address farmer concerns of the impact of deer in TB blackspots.

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