I really hope the minister hasn’t rushed a hastily-convened TB summit in an effort to show initiative or give the impression that something big is about to happen.

More ‘consultation’ falls on deaf ears for the farmers in Tipperary, Cork and Kerry that have seen a huge increase in 2025 TB reactors (p11), despite adhering to all current rules and regulations.

IFA has just announced results of an ifac study estimating the cost to farmers is €150m annually managing the current TB programme. The analysis speaks volumes on the real financial impact of TB on rural Ireland. It’s almost twice what the TB programme is costing the Department of Agriculture.

This Thursday’s Department-led summit looks so choreographed and, while giving farm organisations a week’s notice shows urgency, it borders on lacking respect for all those that have engaged heretofore.

The mood is low with farmers to the point of indifference. The TB forum stakeholders have come forward with proposals and suggestions but have had little if any feedback.

The proof of the pudding will be in the eating, and what emerges on Thursday with revamped/new proposals published. Will the Department include or engage on any of the farmer proposals?

One of the positive legacies of COVID-19 is that we have laboratory capacity to fingerprint microbes. While some of this ‘new age’ testing has been undertaken for TB investigation, my understanding is that not enough has been done to crack the web of transmission and identify strains in some farms relative to the next etc.

Maybe the virulence genes in circulation now are more contagious than in the past? In tackling TB, we seem to be lacking new science or measurement at scale to take the inherent noise out of the data gathered.