Animal disease levies ‘reasonable’
In a Dáil reply to Tipperary South Fine Gael TD, Tom Hayes, Minister Walsh said disease levies have to be viewed against the overall expenditure of €216 million for disease eradication.
He believed a contribution from farmers themselves was reasonable.
“Given the tight budgetary situation, I have no option but to implement an increase in levies amounting to €10 million,” he said.
The €216 million provision in the 2003 Estimates includes BSE,; €67 million relates to TB and brucellosis.
A major part of TB and brucellosis expenditure relates to compensation, which has increased since on-farm valuation was introduced.
Revised arrangements for the TB and brucellosis schemes were agreed with farming bodies in April, 1996. Farmers were to arrange and pay for the first clear herd test each year. Disease levies payable were reduced from £7.30 to £2.50 per animal, and from 1.3p to 0.5p per gallon of milk.
Levies were designed to contribute some £10 million a year, or 50% of compensation costs from 1996 to 1999.
But levy receipts reached only £45 million, while compensation payments totalled £120 million.
