Pat Deering (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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We have a serious problem in this country without live exports. It is a delicate subject, as the witnesses have stated. They are dealing with it regularly.

We have no problem complying with regulations but a valid point has been made by Mr. Doyle about what could be coming down the line and we must be aware of that. It is crucial that we can develop further markets. We have started a process in the past number of weeks of considering the future of the beef sector, and there is a major question mark over it. Many people have plenty of opinions but there is no silver bullet solution to the matter, as we know. Live exports will be a crucial part of the issue. If we produce 300,000 or 400,000 calves on an annual basis over and above what was produced previously, we could only manage that by getting them out of the country as quickly as possible. We have to do it as efficiently and as economically as possible. This is a crucial sector of industry that must be developed further. The contribution of witnesses today has been very important and we are delighted to have them to discuss the matter so we can do our bit to move on the issue.