Five thousand badgers were culled in Ireland last year and a further 7,000 were vaccinated for Tuberculosis (TB) as part of a Department of Agriculture prevention programme.
However, the department says the plan is to phase out the culling programme as it is not a sustainable solution long term.
June Fanning from the Department of Agriculture told the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) that it is hard to determine the exact number of badgers in Ireland.
"It is difficult to know how many badgers there are in Ireland as they are a nocturnal secretive species. However, a recent UCD study estimated around 90,000. "
She said there has been a slight increase in the number of TB cases recently.
"The numbers are hovering around the early twenty thousands, the herd incidence has decreased slightly for 2021 and 2022.
"What we are seeing is less herds going down but larger outbreaks within those herds."
Ms Fanning said the reasons behind the spread of TB in Ireland are multi factorial, including the expansion of the dairy herd since 2015, larger herds and fragmentation of farms.
She said the badger is a protected species here and this complicates the issues for the TB eradication programme.
Brendan Gleeson, Secretary General at the Department of Agriculture told Fine Gael TD Colm Burke that there is a persistent low level of TB and it is difficult to eradicate.
Deputy Burke said that following a number of forest fires in Killarney National Park in Co Kerry last year many deer traveled east and "a number of farms are now locked up".
However, Ms Fanning said: "Deer are not a significant problem in relation to TB, overpopulation of the herd is a bigger problem."
"The problem with deer relates more to biodiversity loss," she said.
She added that a strategy group set up to deal with the problem of deer has received 1,500 submissions on how to develop a management plan.
Green Party TD Marc O'Cathasaigh questioned whether the budget spend on TB is value for money and if "eradication is an achievable goal".
Mr Gleeson said there has to be an eradication prgramme "otherwise we could not trade".
"It is possible to do these things, but it is not easy. Our approach now is to try and work with farmers and all stakeholders through a TB forum, rather than trying to impose things without consultation."
Independent TD Verona Murphy said she had never seen as many dead badgers on the roads.
"If we do not continue with culling and we have an overrun of badgers, they are going to pose a road safety risk just like deer are.
"It's not just about welfare or TB its now also about road safety," she said.
