Luke Flanagan (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am curious. Why are there animal welfare issues when one arrives in Stranraer as opposed to other ports in England or Wales? Are people more sensitive in England and Wales than in Scotland?

There is some agreement that we need access to the British market so it is remarkable that we cannot get someone to ship over to Britain. Bord Bia can play a role. I shall quote Bord Bia. Having read the quote it seems undecided as to whether to enter the British market. Mr. Aidan Cotter, head of Bord Bia, said:

We have always been discussing with retailers in the UK about this around labelling. British retailers have been reluctant to move that set up as it has been the convention used since BSE in 1996. Ireland exports 50% of its beef into Britain and the other 50% goes into continental markets. If we lose any of those premium markets because their prices are too high that would be a real dilemma for our farmers. If our cattle prices rose to the UK level it would be very difficult for us to compete on the continent. The UK is exporting, it is a deficit market. If our prices rose to that level how could we possible compete? .... I do not think that it is in our best interest to focus on Britain.

Those are the words spoken by the head of Bord Bia.

Is it good? Is it our future to go into Britain? If it is, then what is the head of Bord Bia talking about? It is one of Bord Bia's primary jobs to sort out labelling. What has Bord Bia done about labelling? What has the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine done about labelling? If it is a good thing for us to get into the British market, then what is Bord Bia at?

I have a final question for Mr. John Bryan. When did the IFA last contact TLT? The documentation here says it was on Tuesday, 12 November. What was the IFA's last contact with TLT? What effort has been made to work with TLT to sort out the matter? When was the last time that the IFA and TLT met?