Latest figures from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) suggest the average time from when cattle test positive for TB until they are removed from a farm is "18.1 days".

But farmers in some counties are also waiting considerably longer than this.

According to the department the time taken to remove cattle that test positive for TB varies depending on several factors.

A spokesperson for DAFM said following a positive test, animals are valued under the On-Farm Market Valuation scheme.

But either the farmer or the department can appeal the valuation, which could then delay removal for slaughter.

There may also be other factors which delay removal including animals undergoing mandatory medicine withdrawal periods and reactors in late pregnancy, which cannot be moved until after calving.

According to DAFM any of these circumstances can impact on the average removal timeframes recorded across counties.

The county breakdown shows how removal times vary across the country, highlighting differences in how quickly reactor animals are taken off holdings with Dublin currently showing the longest wait time at 31 days.

According to the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon, a reduction in TB levels in breeding herds especially dairy herds "is a key element in driving down" TB levels nationally.

Last September the minister launched a Bovine TB Action Plan and the government earmarked more than €157 million as part of Budget 2026 to fight the disease.

In Budget 2027 DAFM was allotted €142.4 million for the TB programme for next year.

Minister Heydon believes that there has been "encouraging progress in recent months" in reducing TB levels.

According to DAFM over a 12 month period to the end of September 2026, the herd incidence was 5.40% down from 6.08%.

The number of herds restricted over this period was 5,353 down 12% and the number of reactors was over 36,374 down 9.5%.

Commenting on these figures Minister Heydon said: "I believe that this reduction is due to the combined efforts of all stakeholders in engaging and supporting farmers in reducing the risk of bovine TB in their herds.

"I am confident that the changes I have introduced will continue to help drive down disease levels further".