Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for coming before the committee and making their presentations. It is clear that the live export market is needed to maintain prices for farmers, and we all recognise that. I am interested in lairage, one of the key points that has been raised. Mr. Scallan referred to the time factor and said that calves stop for 12 hours rest and feeding, etc., and then move on again. In general, how long is the journey after that? If additional lairage were available, would it have to be in that exact location or are there alternatives in the region?

On the regulations on export licences, particularly for heavier, finished cattle, which Deputy Cahill mentioned, I know Algeria and other markets have been opened up to some extent. I believe there are difficulties, however, and cattle are not being exported to Algeria. I would like to explore this a little and see what needs to be done to ensure that this can happen safely.

Reference has been made to the various NGOs, lobby groups, etc., that are always looking at this under a microscope to find out what is happening and so on. This may not be a bad thing, though, because it shows the world the quality of cattle and animals exported from Ireland, and that we can meet the highest standards. I do not think scrutiny is a problem. The problem is ensuring we have the infrastructure in place to deal with the regulations.

If longer journeys are required, for example, to north Africa, is it difficult to get boats and transportation in place to facilitate them? Will the new boat that is coming online assist in that regard?

A point was made about the increasing numbers of cattle, and we all see the expansion of the dairy herd. While this is certainly very good for people in the dairy business - they are making plenty of money - the excess calves coming from that market will pose a problem unless they can be got out of the country, as far as I can see, because there seems to be no other route for them. The issue here is whether we have markets and whether we can find them without having to travel very long journeys. That is one of the key questions. If very long journeys do not need to be travelled, one mitigates much of the criticism because it is focuses on live exports to places at the far end of eastern Europe and further afield. If we can keep the trade closer, we will overcome many of these issues.