Mr. Sean Coughlan:

If I may briefly respond, I completely agree with what the Senator is saying. I was probably a bit of a let-down for the audience in Carrick-on-Shannon after the festival that was on that weekend. It was fantastic to see the young people at festival.

The Senator referred to the quality animals we are exporting and the export weanlings. In 2022, we exported approximately 28,000 weanlings. Of them, approximately 16% were 1-star animals, while approximately 24% were from 5-star cows. To have a better chance of breeding an animal that is fit for export - they tend to be what people generally consider to be the better quality weanlings - one is better off using a 5-star cow. I stand to be corrected but my understanding is that the Belgian Blue heifer that made the €21,500 in Carrick was out of a 5-star cow.