Officials from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) cannot yet provide a clear timeline for a new TB control plan as the minister considers a number of measures following stakeholder engagements.

DAFM officials and the TB 2030 Stakeholder Forum today (Wednesday, June 18) went before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Agriculture and Food.

The committee took evidence on the eradication of bovine tuberculosis (TB).

The meeting took place as DAFM has confirmed that the overall cost to the exchequer of the TB Programme, excluding staff costs, has increased from full-year costs of €57 million in 2023 to over €100 million in 2024 - and is on track to increase further in 2025 to €130 million if current disease levels continue.

In 2026, with existing current disease levels and existing controls, it could hit between €170-€180 million.

The primary driver of increased costs has been compensation due to increased disease levels, according to DAFM.

"The quickest way we can reduce the cost to the exchequer is to drive down disease levels," Conor O'Mahony, principal officer, DAFM, told the committee.

The Oireachtas Joint Committee on Agriculture and Food heard from Conor O’Mahony and Damien Barrett, who is senior superintendent veterinary inspector with DAFM.

The department has said that as of June 8 this year, 6,458 herds have suffered a TB breakdown in the last 12 months in comparison to 5,217 in the same period last year.

There has also been a "substantial increase" in the number of reactors, with 42,970 being disclosed in the last 12 months in comparison to 31,797 in the previous 12 months, an increase of 35%.

In addition, almost 10 million tests were carried out at June 8, 2025, compared to around 9.9 million tests in the same period in 2024, O'Mahony told the committee meeting.

Michael Cronin, chairperson of the TB 2030 Stakeholder Forum also attended the meeting.

In a written submission to the committee, Cronin said that due to the dramatic increase in TB levels, a number of special meetings of the forum were held towards the end of 2024 and in February and March of this year.

"At our February meeting, it was agreed that there was an urgent requirement to set new measures for inclusion in the TB programme aimed at reducing TB levels in cattle," he said in his submission.

"All stakeholders, including the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine were afforded an opportunity to either formally present proposed measures or to address the forum with a view to communicating their views on suggested changes required to address the increase in disease levels in recent years.

"Following these meetings and at the request of the forum, I wrote to Minister Martin Heydon TD, where I explained that the forum had been going through a process of getting agreement on additional measures that needed to be added to the TB programme to support the reduction of TB incidents in herds.

"I explained that there were a number of areas where agreement could be reached to enhance the programme - however, there were a number of other areas where there was a considerable gap between stakeholder views on the future direction required of the programme."

Cronin told the committee that two areas where there was this "gap" on views were herd categorisation, and periods of testing.

Cronin said that in this letter to the minister, he gave the opinion that given the "urgent need" for changes to the TB programme, he did not "believe that agreement on additional measures would be reached in the TB Forum alone, in the time required to address the continuing increase in disease levels".

"Since then, the minister has held a number of high-level meetings with the farming organisations and DAFM officials and I understand that deliberations from these meetings are expected to be announced shortly."

The representatives from the department present at today's meeting could not provide any definite timeline for new measures around TB to be announced.

According to DAFM's Conor O'Mahony, the new proposals, once agreed, will set out how the department and stakeholders will continue to engage on the issues impacting on TB levels in Ireland, which will involve some "difficult choices".

He said the minister has "engaged significantly" with industry stakeholders over the last number of weeks and his "considerations are still ongoing" in relation to new measures.

"Until measures are fully agreed, and the minister lays them out, it wouldn't be possible to put a timeline," O'Mahony said.

He added: "Time is critical, it is of the essence. It is very much envisioned that those measures would be put in place as soon as practical."

Due to where current disease levels are, it cannot be "confidently" said that TB is going to be eradicated by 2030 - "but in terms of timelines of the minister launching this plan, and then implementing it, that's an immediate focus", O'Mahony added.

Minister Heydon told Agriland in recent days that measures he is looking at implementing include signfiicantly increasing resourcing in his department in the area of wildlife, and the ramping up of blood testing.