Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I join the Minister in wishing Aidan Cotter well. He has served for over three decades. He was an excellent CEO and very knowledgeable. We should consider not only Mercosur, but also the Commonwealth agreements and Canadian agreements that will come forward. There is a whole host of agreements. Is it not the case that we need to put in place people who will be in a position to deal with all these agreements?

Regarding live exports, is the Minister concerned about recent developments in the calf trade and so on in his home county? I noticed there was a particular reluctance or disengagement regarding trade in Cork. What impact would that have on the provision of alternative opportunities or competition? We know the way factories behave. If they get a small glut at all, there is only one place they point to, namely, farmers' pockets, to rob and plunder them while the factories continue on their merry-go-round in the absence of competition.

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