The Minister for Agriculture, Mr Walsh, was compelled by court order yesterday to release animal identity cards to a Mayo farmer who wants to sell his cattle.
The Minister was also ordered to withdraw a declaration, made by his Department, that the man's farm is a "restricted holding" under bovine TB regulations.
Mr Patrick Higgins, Beken, Claremorris, Co Mayo, is one of hundreds of farmers in western counties unable to sell their cattle because their herd cards are kept in Department offices while clerical officers there continue their industrial action.
Mr Higgins took a test case against the Minister at Galway Circuit Civil Court yesterday. The success of his application sets a precedent for other farmers who are unable to sell their cattle because of the continuing strike by clerical workers.
Around 270 workers, who are members of the Civil and Public Services Union, have been on strike for the past eight weeks for better promotional opportunities. As a result, a huge backlog of work has built up, with the animal cards of angry and frustrated farmers caught up in the system.
Mr Higgins, who owns a 100-acre dairy farm, had his animal cards retained by the Department following two positive TB tests last year. His land was deemed a restricted holding, and he could not move or sell animals from the farm.
However, subsequent tests in January and April this year showed his cattle to be TB-free. Mr Higgins then hoped to sell 21 cattle, but efforts to retrieve his cards from the Department offices in Castlebar and have his farm deemed TB-free failed as a consequence of the strike.