Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Minister is seeking refuge by trying to spread the blame. He has argued that the export sector has not done as much as it could but he is ignoring his own responsibility here. Standards have to be met and regulations have to be kept but we must ensure that there is sufficient capacity to maximise the export market. The Minister has taken no action to do so. Bord Bia collects a levy on every calf that is exported. Last year, €300,000 was collected by Bord Bia for this purpose. The Minister said that departmental officials were in Cherbourg in September 2018 and Bord Bia was there more recently. Unfortunately, the Minister was working on the premise that there would be additional ferry capacity over the last few months, which has proven to be wrong. He did not take the action required to ensure that the capacity was in place in Cherbourg to maximise exports. The calves that did not leave the country in the last few weeks as a result of the Minister's inaction will be in the system here and will be oversupplying our market in 18 months' time. However, it is not too late for him to step up to the mark. The Minister must admit that he has a key responsibility here and stop washing his hands of the problem while farmers lose out on income.

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