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Over €17.3m in TB compensation payments was paid to farmers in 2020, figures from the Department of Agriculture show.
The vast majority of this compensation was through the On Farm Market Valuation scheme, where up to €14.1m was issued to farmers in 2020.
Farmers in Cork received the largest compensation total under the scheme, with €2.7m issued to them, followed by Tipperary (€1.4m) and Clare (€1.1m).
Farmers in Westmeath, Monaghan and Kerry had the next highest round of compensation payments, with €843,826, €836,565 and €820,050 respectively.
As of the third quarter of 2020, there was a 35% increase in the compensation payments under the scheme, compared to the same period in 2019.
Some €2.5m was paid out to farmers under the TB Income Supplement in 2020, with Cork farmers receiving €439,330 in compensation. Cork was followed by Wicklow (€341,011) and Monaghan (€338,366).
Under the Hardship grant, some €454,367 was paid out to farmers in 2020.
Some €159,982 went to farmers in Munster and €140,911 went to farmers in Leinster. Farmers in Connacht received €81,768 and those in Ulster received €71,705.
Meanwhile, under the Depopulation grants, some €156,178 was paid out in 2020, with farmers in Ulster, likely heavily weighted to farmers in blackspot areas in Cavan and Monaghan, receiving €82,152.
Farmers in Leinster received €41,513, while farmers in Munster received €24,895 under the Depopulation grant. Connacht farmers received €7,617.
County breakdowns of the Hardship and Depopulation grants were not available due to GDPR reasons, according to the Department.
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