Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

In the programme for Government, there was much aspirational talk of supporting our agriculture industry. Goodness knows, with the onset of Brexit and the hiccups we have seen, it is in a perilous state. There is a crisis with every dairy herd in the country having all hands on deck delivering calves, feeding them, looking after them and giving them an early start. There is no export vehicle. The Irish Farmers Association and all the other farming organisations are very concerned that there is no ship ready to transport these calves to markets abroad. The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine is as láthair but the Tánaiste, Deputy Coveney, knows a small bit about this and he might have been on a dairy farm once or twice. This is a serious issue and not a laughing matter. Will the Government ensure a facility is available to farmers and exporters so they can transport calves with full documentation safely to overseas markets? It is beyond urgent.

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