Icmsa seeks overhaul of tb income supplement scheme

The Chairperson of Tipperary ICMSA has called for a complete overhaul of the TB Income Supplement Scheme. Seamus Troy said that farmers who had suffered severe TB outbreaks in their herds through no fault of their own were suffering losses of an order that are simply not sustainable and this reality had to be addressed under the Income Supplement Scheme and other TB schemes.

 

He said: “The wholly inadequate nature of the TB Income Supplement Scheme is brought sharply into focus at this time of the year for dairy farmers.  Under the conditions of the scheme, a famer who loses more than 10% of their herd to a TB outbreak receives an income supplement on a monthly basis to supposedly compensate them for the losses suffered.

 

@In the case of a dairy cow, the present payment of €25.39 per month bears absolutely no relationship with the actual loss suffered by the farmer – in peak production months the losses could run to 10 times this figure. In fact, the compensation figure is totally inadequate even during months of low milk production.”