Regional veterinary offices in Cork North and Cork South identified more bovine tuberculosis (TB) reactors over a 12 month rolling average to the end of the first quarter (Q1) of 2025, compared to any other county, according to latest figures from the Department of Agriculture, Food, and the Marine (DAFM).

The Cork North regional veterinary office identified 3,336 rectors to the end of Q1 2025 while the Cork South regional veterinary office identified 3,917 reactors.

In comparison, the Dublin regional veterinary office identified 219 based on a 12 month rolling average number of reactors.

Overall, according to the latest statistics from DAFM, 41,780 TB reactors were identified by regional veterinary offices throughout the country to the end of Q1 2025.

The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon, plans to hold what he has described as a stakeholder summit this Thursday (May 8) to discuss a "reset of the TB programme".

The minister said this is "aimed at addressing deteriorating TB disease levels".

DAFM has outlined that TB disease levels in recent years have increased significantly.

Herd incidence has increased from 4.31% in 2022 to 6.04% in 2024, a 36% increase in the number of herds restricted between 2022 and 2024, according to its analysis.

Minister Heydon has acknowledged that "an increasing number of farm families are facing the emotional and financial hardship of a TB breakdown".

In response to a parliamentary question recently tabled by the Fianna Fáil TD for Tipperary North, Ryan O'Meara, the minister said that "as the spread of this disease is multi-factorial, we are fighting it on all fronts".

"The TB programme in each county focuses on multiple factors, including local disease spread, contiguous programmes, gamma interferon testing, cleansing and disinfection, testing compliance, and swift isolation and removal of reactors and wildlife," he stated.

Minister Heydon said the "ultimate aim is to control and eventually eradicate TB from the national herd".