Government expenditure on TB hit €48.5 million to the end of June this year, according to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).

Latest national bovine tuberculosis (TB) statistics show this represented a 7% decrease compared to the corresponding figure for Q2 2025.

However, the latest statistics also show there was an 11% increase in expenditure in relation to the On Farm Market Valuation Scheme (OFMV) compared with Q2 2025.

Spend on this increased to €28.98 million.

DAFM said this increase is "due to strong market values".

The OFMV is the "main contributor to the increase in bTB programme expenditure in recent years", the department added.

Herd incidence

As at June 28, 2026, on a rolling 12-month basis, herd incidence stood at 5.32%, DAFM figures on TB show.

This is down from a herd incidence figure of 6.4% in the previous year.

There were 34,886 reactors up to the end of Q2 this year, down from 43,290 up to the end of June 2025.

The number of herds restricted was 5,300, down from 6,449 in the previous corresponding period.

Wildlife

Figures show that to the end of Q2 2026, the total spend on wildlife increased by 1% to €4.1 million.

DAFM has said that Ireland’s bTB programme incorporates a wildlife strategy which includes a combination of badger culling and vaccination.

"Badger vaccination is a key part of the programme," DAFM said.

"This follows over 15 years of research using the BCG vaccine to prevent tuberculosis infection in badgers, and scientific trials carried out between 2013 and 2017.

"The large-scale rollout of badger vaccination commenced in late 2019, every year more and more of the countryside is designated as vaccination zones."

The department added that the "intention is to gradually reduce badger culling per annum in tandem with the badger vaccination".