A pilot co-operation project between the Irish and Northern Irish agriculture departments to tackle bovine TB on a regional basis has been launched.
The project, which is part of the Shared Island Initiative, will see both departments collaborate in a pilot area in the north-east of Donegal and the north-west of Northern Ireland to provide a proof of concept of a regional approach to TB eradication.
The Irish Government will contribute €6.5 million towards the costs over the five-year period of the pilot project, with the remaining €5.2 million funded by the Northern Ireland Department of Agriculture.
This is the first time the two departments have taken a collaborative approach to bovine TB management in areas crossing the border, the aim of which is to reduce bovine TB disease levels, reactor numbers, and exchequer spending in both jurisdictions.
The project involves the application of a series of enhanced TB controls, with the additional controls on the Donegal side aligned with the recently published TB action plan - addressing additional testing regimes, providing intensive biosecurity training to farmers, and wildlife controls.
While on the Northern-Ireland side, the project will involve additional cattle testing regimes, research on the development of an appropriate wildlife controls, and intensive biosecurity training to famers.
Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon said: "As a single epidemiological area, it makes sense for us to tackle disease control and eradication together and, with the support provided through the Shared Island Fund, I look forward to seeing positive outcomes from this pilot project."
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While Northern Ireland Agriculture Minister Andrew Muir described the co-operation as a "significant milestone in our collaborative efforts to combat Bovine TB across this island".
"Farmers are at the heart of this initiative, and their insights and experiences are invaluable in shaping future policies and strategies," he said.
The cross-border plan to tackle TB comes amid a continued rise of the disease on farms in recent years.
Well over 40,000 cases of the disease were detected last year, and since 2023 there has been a 44% jump in cases on farms.
In the Budget last October, the funding for eradicating bovine TB on Irish farms was doubled to around €170 million, while a new action plan to tackle the disease was launched.
Annual expenditure on the State's bovine TB eradication programme has exceeded its budget each year since 2020.
The Comptroller and Auditor General said the overspend in 2020 was 17% - rising to 76% in 2024.
