Former agriculture minister calls for changes to TB valuations

Brendan Smith said: “I have a concern that valuable pedigree lines could be lost. I know of some individual farmers who win national awards every year and would have a number of substantive pedigree herds. File picture: Maurice O'Mahony

Current TB compensation levels for cattle do not reflect the reality of the prices being paid in the marts today, a former agriculture minister told the Dail.

Deputy Brendan Smith called on the current Minister, Charlie McConalogue, to ensure the payments are increased without further delay. He was speaking ahead of Thursday’s scheduled meeting of the TB Forum’s financial working group, set up 16 months ago to review the programme’s current financial model.