Mr. Paul Smyth:

I will be brief. Many of the issues arise from whether there is a political will to ensure there is an export market in future. There must be a policy at Government level to ensure there is competition between factories, marts and exports in order that a farmer who is producing a quality product can sell that quality product. The first striking thing about TLT International being gone is that many thousands of animals will not be exported next year. Next autumn thousands of animals will have nowhere to go, so it will be a field day for factories to name their price. As we see every year, when there is an excess of supply, prices drop quite quickly.

The crux of this is whether a policy can be introduced at Government level to ensure there is a viable export industry. We have heard the responses at this meeting, but we need concrete proposals for the future. We are happy to discuss with people what proposals are possible, but if that does not happen, we will be back here in a few years when another company goes into receivership or-----