The Veterinary Council of Ireland has noted the 9% non-compliance rate of vets’ inspections for adherence to TB herd testing protocol last year and said that “any level of non-compliance should be taken seriously”.

The Department of Agriculture undertook 151 inspections of vets carrying out TB tests in 2024 and found that 13 of these did not comply with testing procedures, six of whom had been found in breach during a previous inspection.

The Department has not stated which issues arose during these inspections to deem vets non-compliant with testing procedures.

ADVERTISEMENT

The Veterinary Council of Ireland, which is the independent body that regulates the practise of veterinary medicine, stated to the Irish Farmers Journal that it is up to the Department to notify the council “where issues arise that may raise questions about a practitioner’s professional conduct”.

The council has powers to suspend vets from practising but it must be notified by the Department of issues found to have arisen before it can consider matters within its regulatory remit.

“The Department of Agriculture does not routinely report all instances of TB testing non-compliance by veterinary practitioners directly to the Veterinary Council of Ireland,” it said.

Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal, the IFA’s animal health chair TJ Maher stated that high-quality TB testing is a central pillar to reducing levels of the disease, as he welcomed the Department’s inspection of vets undertaking herd tests on farms.

“Vets act as an arm of the Department when carrying out tests, whether they are paid for by the farmer or whether it is the Department that is paying,” Maher commented.