The position of individual farmers will have to be ‘front and centre’ in any new strategy to eradicate TB by 2030, according to the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers’ Association (ICMSA).
Speaking in advance of the TB Forum meeting this Wednesday, September 5, ICMSA president Pat McCormack said that any new policies that do not fairly and adequately deal with the TB issue – as well as the consequences for individual farmers – will not be acceptable.
McCormack said that TB has been a huge burden on Irish farmers for many decades, both financially and otherwise, and farmers want to see this disease eradicated.
The root cause of the problem – including all wildlife – must be properly addressed, he added.
“If we are to achieve eradication through cooperation, then, firstly, the term of reference of the forum must be agreed at the forum – and not dictated from the top.
“The ICMSA is particularly concerned by the department’s suggestion that any new measures will have to be funded under the current budget between now and 2030. This is not acceptable.
“If we are serious about eradicating TB, then we have to agree on measures that will move us there, then we clearly identify the costs associated with such measures and put in place the necessary funding to compensate the individual farmers involved.”
Individual farmers, he said, have borne a burden in relation to TB for too long that can’t be tolerated any longer.
“Adequate funding is going to have to be put in place and, if the department decides to penny-pinch on this, then the strategy will fail.
Why don’t we fund the strategy properly and eradicate the disease rather than underfund the strategy and spend another 50 years wondering why it didn’t work?
McCormack concluded by committing the ICMSA to eradicating the disease – but he insisted that the effort had to be serious with clear preconditions, funding and targets and these would be insisted upon at the first TB Forum meeting.