A poultry farmer whose operation is in "complete lockdown" has said he is spending an additional €1,000 a day on energy costs following a bird flu outbreak in his area.
Former IFA Poultry Chair Nigel Reneghan owns a commercial turkey farm in Clontibret, Co Monaghan.
His operation is located three kilometres away from the farm where the third outbreak of bird flu in Ireland was confirmed by the Department of Agriculture last night.
A previous outbreak of avian influenza was confirmed at a commercial turkey flock in Co Carlow last Tuesday and another turkey flock in Co Meath.
Turkey chicks were due to arrive at Mr Reneghan's farm tomorrow but their arrival has been cancelled due to his farm being in a high-risk area.
However, the shed where the chicks were due to be kept has to be at a consistent high temperature before their arrival in just over a week.
Speaking to RTÉ's Drivetime, he said: "The temperature for chicks coming into the shed is approximately 35C to 36C, and that’s the air temperature. To get a floor temperature of about 31C, 32C, you need that."
"We’re burning gas, you can't just turn on heaters and get that heat. You can get that heat relatively quickly, it’s getting that into the fabric of the building and into the timber, getting it into everything. It’s that intensity.
"We are blowing about €1,000 a day, the last couple of days doing that.
"But at the end of the day, I would rather do that and forsake the laws than wind up jeopardizing other neighbours by taking in birds and maybe being unfortunate enough to get avian influenza," Mr Reneghan said.
He added that "it is about the industry as a whole rather than being selfish".
Read more: Will bird flu mean there won't be turkeys for Christmas?
Mr Reneghan stressed that the proximity of the most recent outbreak is making him "paranoid" that the virus could still spread onto his farm, despite strong biosecurity measures in place.
The poultry farmer said he is in "complete lockdown", adding that it was "an extremely stressful time" for commercial turkey farmers.
"Any farmer within the three-kilometre zone is very stressed out. We're all stressed out, nobody wants this.
"Everybody does everything they can to possibly avoid this. It's just a real bummer, the fact that it's a virus, you can't see it. If you could see it, it'd be easier to prevent," he said.
Mr Reneghan praised the Department of Agriculture for their response to the recent outbreaks.
The department implemented restriction zones around the affected holding, comprising a 3km-protection zone and a 10km-surveillance zone in line with national and EU legislation.
It follows a compulsory housing order for all poultry and captive birds which came into force in Ireland yesterday.
Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon said the order will help mitigate the ongoing risk but asked for "strict and meticulous attention to biosecurity by all those who keep poultry or captive birds".
Mr Reneghan added: "At the end of the day, the amount of stock that has been affected isn't massive within the poultry industry. It's not a huge amount, we are keeping this under control."
