A Co. Clare farmer who had 14 continental cattle TB reactors suffered a "loss of €10,500" because of the government's current TB compensation system, a Fine Gael senator has claimed.
Senator PJ Murphy told the Seanad that in the case of this particular Co. Clare farmer, he suffered the loss of €10,500 "compared to what he would have received in the mart" for the animals.
Senator Murphy said that he had a valuation slip from August 2025 from the farmer in Co. Clare.
The senator said: "An independent valuer assigned by the Department of Agriculture came out and valued those animals at between €3,100 and €4,200.
"A maximum value could be paid to that farmer of €3,000 per animal.
"For the 14 animals in question, that farmer was at a loss of €10,500 compared to what he would have received in the mart," Senator Murphy added.
The senator believes this case illustrates the "serious flaw" in the current TB compensation system and has urged the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon, to look into this as soon as possible.
Senator Murphy highlighted in the Seanad that more than 6,000 farm families were affected by TB outbreaks last year.
He said this was a "huge cause of stress" for these families, not only because of the financial stress but also because of the anxiety of having a reactor in their herd.
The senator also pointed to the fact that the loss of milk revenues to the dairy industry alone as a result of the disease was estimated at 145 million litres in 2024.
Earlier this week, Minister Heydon said that additional funding delivered in Budget 2026 will now boost the total budget to fight TB to €157 million.
"This allocation will support and enable farm families who are currently dealing with the stress of a TB outbreak to navigate a way out of a TB restriction and protect those herds currently free from TB, from the stress of a TB outbreak," Minister Heydon said.