Debate contribution: Bovine Tuberculosis

Debate contribution by Mr Andrew McMurray on 27 April 2026.

MLA

Mr Andrew McMurray

Party at the time

Alliance Party

Date

27 April 2026

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Bovine Tuberculosis

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5508732

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I welcome the motion and the debate. Bovine TB is one of the most pressing issues facing our agriculture sector and community. It is by no means the only factor, but the emotional toll that it takes on our farmers cannot be overstated. I will touch on that later. I will start with some numbers highlighted in the recent report by the Andersons Centre: the indirect costs borne by farmers. Bovine TB costs the taxpayer £60 million every year, which is money that could make such a difference elsewhere if the disease were eradicated. I am not a farmer, but, like many, I am only a few generations removed from a farm. As a child, I spent many years on farms and, until other distractions got in the way, loved doing that, so I have nothing but empathy for the farmers who have to deal with the trauma that comes when bovine TB hits one or many of their herd. Some are visibly upset, some more stoic, but all are affected when this happens. Of course, there is a practical cost to the farmers, not least to dairy farmers. They are losing a breed line, losing production and incurring overheads for keeping cattle that could otherwise be sold. The dairy farmer gets it hard. Indeed, the Andersons Centre report highlights the fact that indirect costs can be as high as £96 million. During the week, I spoke to one farmer about bovine TB on his farm. The issue has not arrived in the past two years that the Minister has been in post. It was not dealt with by the previous Minister, and, as was referenced to me, it has been 30 or 40 years in the making. The mistake of not dealing with the issue led to delays that were further compounded by the DUP's decision to walk away from the Executive and to shut down the Assembly for two years. As with a lot of things, we could be two years further down the road in developing a response to eradicate bovine TB, but we are not. Alliance will remain open-minded and await feedback on wildlife intervention and the associated evidence. However, Minister Muir has learned from his predecessors' mistakes. I am glad that he is approaching the issue with the urgency and rigour that it deserves to ensure that any measures that are brought forward will stand on solid legal ground. I welcome the TB stakeholder body that the Minister established on the recommendation of the Chief Veterinary Officer. It has produced a blueprint for tackling bovine TB that includes actions on people, cattle and wildlife; it is important that we tackle all three. I am grateful that the Minister has endorsed the blueprint and is putting in place a TB transformation programme to advance progress as quickly as possible. There is also an innovative pilot, supported by the Shared Island Fund, that adopts a regionalisation approach to tackling TB on a cross-border basis. That makes sense, because diseases such as bovine TB do not respect borders. I hope that the pilot will be a success and that it will continue. It is important that we all work together to tackle the disease. For the sake of our farmers and our rural communities, we need to set aside narrow party political interests and support the Minister in his endeavours.

562 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 15:32 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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