Mr. Joe Connolly:

We are very concerned about the ports. There is a big roll-on, roll-off operation for the UK and we ship further afield to the world, going through Waterford or Dublin ports. That is with the container traffic. The roll-on, roll-off operation is a big worry no matter what we do. At this point we have opened our accounts to pay for whatever duties may come and there is frustration at not knowing what will happen, where and when. I know it is very frustrating for everybody in the room when we are trying to see which way the monkey will jump. Ultimately, we need to be able to get our products into ports.

Currently, we have taken warehousing in the UK and have approximately a month's supply for customers. We have a fairly large staff in the UK and have been trading over there since 1985 in horse and pet foods. The biggest issue we have is that nobody can say exactly what will happen. We could have anything from 10% duty on horse feed under World Trade Organization rules and even up to 32% on pet foods.

Many of our transport people ask us what we do about traffic and preparedness. We would have to go back and ask the Department if it can give us more help. As Mr. Roche said, our biggest problem is that if tariffs are applied to beef, there will be a shortage of cash and the whole business could stop. If there is a lack of money and a lack of a market, there will be a serious problem.

We produce half of our grain requirements in Ireland. Good quality grain has the same land requirement as good quality grass. The competition between grass and grain is high. There is a better return for the beef and dairy sectors for grass, so the competition for land is difficult. In Ireland, even if we took every acre and put it all into grain, we would still not be able to provide soy beans and maize, which are requirements for the beef and dairy sectors.