Debate contribution: Bovine Tuberculosis
Debate contribution by Miss Áine Murphy on .
- MLA
- Miss Áine Murphy
- Party at the time
- Sinn Féin
- Date
- 27 April 2026
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Private Members' Business
- Heading
- Bovine Tuberculosis
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5508762
Read the official Assembly record
Text
Go raibh maith agat, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle.
I thank everybody for taking part in the debate. It was a useful debate. Declan referred to the fact that we had brought a similar motion to the Chamber in November 2024. In my constituency, as is the case in many rural areas across the North, bovine TB is not just something that farmers read about in reports; it is something that families have to live with. It is a threat that hangs over every farm family. Many of us in the Chamber have spoken directly with farmers who are at their absolute wits' end because of TB. They have told us about the stress and the sleepless nights that they have leading up to testing. They have told us about the heartbreak of seeing cattle removed from herds that they have spent years, sometimes decades, building. They have told us about the frustration of doing everything right and still finding themselves trapped in an ongoing cycle that seems never-ending. For those families, it is not just about cattle; it is about their livelihoods, family farms that were built generations ago and the fear that another TB outbreak could be the one that pushes a farm family beyond the brink. The financial cost is serious, and we simply cannot afford not to get to grips with the issue. However, the emotional cost is often harder to measure. The stress that bovine TB places on farmers and their families can be enormous. It impacts on mental well-being, affects family life and creates a level of uncertainty that no family should have to carry year after year without seeing any meaningful progress. The wider impact on rural communities must also be recognised. It is not just an animal health issue but, as has been referenced by nearly everyone who has spoken today, a rural economy and rural family issue. Many farmers feel that they have carried the burden while government has moved far too slowly. If we are serious about eradicating the disease, we must be honest about what is required. The Minister must now move forward with the wildlife interventions that are necessary to bring the disease under control. That can be controversial, but tough decisions have to be made and cannot be avoided for ever, given that the current situation is causing so much damage to farming families and the wider rural economy. Any wildlife intervention must, of course, be evidenced-based, properly planned and proportionate, and it must command public confidence, because farmers need to see that all sources of infection are being addressed if we are to have any realistic chance of getting to grips with and controlling the issue. Just as important, any long-term strategy must be organised in collaboration and cooperation with the Republic. Disease does not recognise borders; wildlife does not recognise borders; and cattle movements certainly do not stop at the border. An island divided by two different approaches cannot effectively tackle one shared disease. If eradication is the goal, as it should be, coordination between the North and South is not optional; it is absolutely essential. That means sharing data, aligning strategy, working together on wildlife management and recognising that only an all-island approach can deliver the lasting progress that our farmers and their families deserve. Our families do not need or want any more reports or any more delay, and they do not want any more promises that lead us nowhere. They want action and leadership and to know that the Assembly understands what the disease is doing to rural farm families.
596 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
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