87. Deputy Joe Cooney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the current herd incidence rate of bovine tuberculosis, TB, in County Clare; the steps being taken to support Clare farmers who have suffered financial losses due to TB reactor removals; whether the on-farm market valuation ceiling of €3,000 for non-pedigree cattle will be reviewed in light of the significant gap between that ceiling and the true market value of animals being removed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35917/26]

Sentiment score: 0.15

As the Minister is well aware, TB is an issue that is hitting farm families very hard across the county, including my county of Clare. Could he provide information on where we are with the eradication strategy? Does he think eradication is a realistic goal? What are his plans to evaluate the current compensation cap?

Sentiment score: 0.03

I compliment the Minister on his great work on this issue, but, unfortunately, I hear from farmers in Clare every week who are losing thousands of euro in comparison with what they would get on the open market. Independent valuers assigned by the Department are valuing animals well above the Department ceiling of €3,000. With the high costs at the moment, this means that farmers, through no fault of their own, are losing real money out of their pockets. The gap between compensation and value is causing serious financial stress and anxiety. Thousands of farm families across the country are affected by this. When will they get a compensation scheme that reflects the market value of the animals they are losing?

Sentiment score: -0.20

Compensation values are totally outdated and do not reflect the true value of animals in 2026. It appears that increased costs and values are being accommodated across many sectors except for farmers with TB. The defective concrete blocks scheme is one example, where we have rightly gone back to affected homeowners and increased compensation values for rebuilding their homes. I appreciate the work the Minister is doing on TB eradication. The increase in the budget is very welcome and clearly shows a commitment to that goal. However, the compensation ceiling for farmers must be reviewed urgently and indexed to reflect current market prices. Anything less is asking farmers to subsidise a disease control programme through their own losses.

Sentiment score: 0.25