Representatives from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) and the TB 2030 Stakeholder Forum will go before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Agriculture and Food today (Wednesday, June 18).

The committee meets for engagement on the eradication of bovine tuberculosis (TB).

The meeting at 3:30p.m today is due to hear from: Conor O’Mahony, principal officer, DAFM; Damien Barrett, senior superintendent veterinary inspector, DAFM; and Michael Cronin, chairperson, TB 2030 Stakeholder Forum.

Speaking ahead of the meeting, Oireachtas committee chair, Fianna Fáil Cork North-West TD, Aindrias Moynihan, said that bovine TB continues to impact herds throughout Ireland.

He said: "Since reaching a historical low in 2016, when herd incidence in this country fell to 3.27%, we have seen bovine TB levels increase year-on-year."

“We look forward to our discussion with the department and the TB 2030 Stakeholder Forum to get their perspectives on what implementations could be introduced to bolster the work already being carried out, and we will look to them to outline their positions on what are the positive and negative impacts of the current strategies being utilised to eradicate bovine TB."

Herd incidence has increased from 4.31% in 2022 to 6.04% in 2024, resulting in a 36% increase in the number of herds restricted between those two years.

Given the devastating impact TB is having on farms across the country, farmers will be eager to hear what the representatives have to say about proposals to control TB at the committee meeting this afternoon.

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon said recently that current projections show an "approach of business as usual will lead to further deterioration of disease levels".

"I am therefore engaged in consultation with key stakeholders on a reset of Ireland’s TB eradication programme," the minister added.

The Joint Committee on Agriculture and Food is made up of 14 members, nine from the Dáil and five from the Seanad.