THE bovine TB eradication scheme would go ahead on April 1st, the Minister for Agriculture confirmed last night. Mr Yates was speaking after the first meeting of the TB forum which he chaired.
Representatives of the Irish veterinary Union, whose members had voted to participate in the scheme, which reverses previous practices, were present.
Previously, the Department of Agriculture arranged and paid for the annual bovine TB test with farmer levies and taxpayers' money. Farmers paid for a mandatory 60 day pre movement test only if they were selling animals.
The new scheme puts the onus for arranging and paying for a annual herd test on Annual farmer levies will be cut and the 60 day premovement test will be abolished.
Farm organisations welcomed the scheme which the 1,000 IVU members, who refused to rotate testing with rival and Department vets under the old scheme, seemed likely to reject.
But a ballot of members favoured participation with "very considerable misgivings", according to the union's general secretary, Mr Pat Brady.
There were fears that the union would boycott the forum (which will run the scheme). But yesterday IVU representatives took their places with members of the farm organisations, marts, the coop movement and Department officials.
In a statement yesterday the IVU said that despite serious differences with the IFA, it was time to build a coalition for food health to protect the long term interests of producers and consumers.
It (the IVU) sees veterinary practitioners as having an absolutely central role in this and believes it is now time to put together an active strategy which can leave no room for doubt about the quality and safety of Irish beef, in particular", it said.
IFA president Mr John Donnelly said the IFA was determined to make the TB scheme work. He thanked Mr Yates for his personal and political commitment to it.