A report compiled by investigators from the Department of Agriculture and Food has dismissed allegations that industrial pollution is responsible for problems on a Kilkenny dairy farm which has suffered from low milk yields, stunted growth in the herd and high calf mortality.
The report, by the Veterinary Laboratory Service, has not been made public but a copy seen by The Irish Times instead blames "significant disease conditions on the farm".
Dan Brennan, who farms 170 acres at Drumgoole, Castlecomer, Co Kilkenny, and his veterinary surgeons, Tom Slevin and Michael Lambe, say they are unhappy with the findings and claim that all disease control measures have been scrupulously implemented.
They have been invited to meet the Minister for Agriculture and Food today to discuss the report. It is understood they will be joined by Pádraig Walshe, president of the IFA.
Mr Lambe, who operates a large veterinary practice in Kilkenny with a client base of 250 farmers, said yesterday that he has "never seen anything like" the problems encountered over the last decade on the Brennan farm and believes that "a toxic agent" is responsible. Mr Brennan believes that "something in the air" is affecting the health of his cattle.
The farm is reported to have experienced severe animal health problems since the early 1990s. In the period from 1998 to 2001 alone, some 70 calves are reported to have died.
Mary White, deputy leader of the Green Party, who spent six months investigating the problems on the farm, said she was "shocked at the state of the cattle" and believes that "there is an environmental problem, which not only affects stock but also trees". Mr Brennan confirmed that "numerous trees including holly, ash and hazel varieties" have died.
The farm is located close to the Ormonde Brick factory, a subsidiary of Cement Roadstone Holdings, and the leading producer of fired-clay bricks in Ireland. The factory operates under licence from the Environmental Protection Agency.
The department's report confirms that "as fluorides are known components of brick-firing emissions, and are known to have caused environmental problems in other countries", investigators examined "the possibility that fluoride toxicity might be contributing to animal health problems on this farm".
However, despite "extensive clinical, pathological and analytical examinations on animals, carcasses and biological samples from animals. . . no evidence of fluorosis was found".
