A proposed new IBR programme will cost €40m a year, run for a minimum of 16 years and have movement controls on farms if this timeline is to be met, the IFA said.
BR or Infectious Bovine Rhinotracheitis is a highly contagious disease and there is evidence, according to Animal Health Ireland (AHI), that approximately 70pc of Irish cattle herds have been exposed to the associated virus.
The disease spreads between cattle and can cause the nose and upper airways to become inflamed. The IBR Implementation Group met in February, including representatives from the processing sectors, the Department of Agriculture (DAFM), farm organisations, breed societies and Teagasc.
At that meeting, a proposal for a national IBR eradication programme, developed by the IBR Technical Working Group, was presented.
In a statement to the Farming Independent, AHI said the proposal was designed in consideration with the recently introduced European Animal Health Law, with the goal of acquiring recognition for the programme in due course and thereafter recognition of freedom.
It said the programme envisages an initial reduction phase followed by an eradication phase, with ongoing review and refinement of the programme, with vaccination, biosecurity and testing key elements of the programme.
The IFA told members that the lack of Government support for the BVD Programme has put the success of any potential IBR programme in jeopardy and called for a funding model to be put in place before a programme of this magnitude can be considered.
AHI said DAFM is currently undertaking national bulk tank milk surveillance, which can provide cost-effective guidance to dairy herds on next steps, with use of targeted blood sampling in suckler herds providing similar information.
An Irish study on IBR recorded a reduction in milk yield, as well as in milk fat and protein in infected dairy herds, highlighting sub-optimal milk production in positive herds.
It concluded that profitability was reduced by an average of €60 per cow per year, aggregating to a national figure of €62M of foregone profit.