Farmers to be hit with BSE payment

Farmers will be hit by an extra payment for testing cases of BSE in animals.

The new charge is set to come in next Friday. The costs however will add to farmers' worries who are already paying for disease controls for TB and Brucellosis.

Estimates reveal that the new levy will cost the farming community an extra €50 million annually.

Derek Davis of the IFA says that the Minister for Agriculture cannot penalise farmers this way without examining the Department itself first.

He insists that the cost of disease control in Ireland is a lot higher than in other countries. The IFA official also says that this new cost will damage an industry that is already in a crisis.