Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I hope that the Minister of State is right, but I believe differently. The failure of this company underlines a significant weakness in protections for people who take the risk. It is interesting that the bank concerned is Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, HSBC. It does not appear that TLT International was able to get a relevant supply of credit from our domestic pillar banks. I have no intention of asking the Minister of State to break the law or involve himself in the receivership. I fully understand the separation. However, what I do not understand is why the Government cannot recognise the inherent flaw in the climate in which livestock exporters operate. To suggest that some of the others will take up the slack shows that the Minister of State's parent Department misunderstands the crisis among livestock exporters. Of course the others will be impacted.

They will find it more difficult to avail of whatever level of credit they currently have. I am sure their bankers are all over them for the last couple of days wondering if their exposure is safe or has it increased the risk profile. Government intervention is therefore needed via a belt and braces approach to ensure the sector remains as it always has been - an outlet to ensure effective competition. In this case it is not so much an effective competition against factories, but effective competition against beef producers in the midlands who compete to purchase weanlings.

It is incumbent upon the Government to become involved and develop a strategy in the same way as the previous Government developed one for output and production from the farming sector, known as Food Harvest 2020. In fairness, the Minister of State has continued with that but he needs to examine the livestock export trade to find an appropriate mechanism to protect this sector which is under considerable threat at the moment.

See this speech in context