The compensation ceilings for cattle culled to TB need to increased immediately to reflect the actual cost of livestock in today’s market, the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers’ Association (ICMSA) has said.

The ICMSA deputy president Eamon Carroll called for the valuation ceilings to rise. They currently stand at €3,000 for commercial cattle and €5,000 for pedigree animals.

“There’s no point pretending that there isn’t a problem with the ceiling valuations currently being applied - there is a problem; they are hopelessly inadequate.

ADVERTISEMENT

“Affected farmers are suffering a double blow: they are taking the financial and psychological blow of the TB itself and then are being left hopelessly underfunded in terms of purchasing replacement stock.

Carroll stated that beef prices have gone up by more than 40% in the last 12 months, “but we are still operating under ceilings that don’t reflect that”.

He called on Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon to increase the ceilings under the On-Farm Market Valuation Scheme.

“Farmers trying to go out and restock are just unable to purchase the same type of animal due to the valuation ceilings.

“There’s no way that they can replace on a like-for-like basis and the compensation package is just demonstrably failing those farmers already suffering the serious impact of TB.

“The very first item on any TB Action Plan has to be fairness and decency towards the farmers affected and the very first way of showing that would be realistic sums allocated to restock with replacement animals.

“This must mean the Minister increasing the valuation ceilings immediately,” Carroll added.