Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

Last night we were reminded of the excellent public service broadcasting work that RTÉ does. “RTÉ Investigates” spent five months researching and exposing what are cruel and inexcusable practices in part of our dairy sector. This is just one of the consequences of the unprecedented expansion since milk quotas were lifted in 2015 which has very predictably resulted in an explosion in the number of bull calves to 500,000 annually. It has resulted in them being treated as a waste product which is valueless and disposable.

Bull calves who survive beyond their first week and who are not killed in a yard or slaughter house routinely suffer terrible abuse. They are kicked, hit with sticks and thrown around by the tail, ears and legs at marts. When they are transported to Europe, they are packed into overcrowded lorries and endure journeys of more than 21 hours without even a drink of water.

How was this allowed happen? It is Government policy. Why have we had such an unsustainable expansion of dairy? It is Government policy. Why have cattle and diary been bred solely for dairy efficiency and away from dual breeding? It is a direct result of Department policy.

When pursing this policy of intensification and so-called efficiency, what was the plan for the obvious increase in bull calves?

As a county, we have always been so proud of our agricultural sector. It is the perception of Irish agriculture abroad that makes it so valuable. People perceive Ireland as a country that has grass-fed cattle, looks after its animals and so on. This scandal risks destroying all that, and not addressing it risks it even more. Most farmers agree that this is damaging and that we cannot tolerate a situation in which hundreds and thousands of calves are bred to suffer from their moment of birth.

I presume the Taoiseach accepts that we need to move away from live exports. There are some immediate steps we could take to do that. We need to incentivise the use of sexed semen. VAT on that could be removed. The Social Democrats had that proposal in our alternative budget last year. Obviously, however, a lot more than that needs to be done, including a re-examination of breeding practices where it is just for so-called efficiency. Clearly, existing laws on animal welfare need to be enforced. That, however, is not enough. Crucially, the Government needs to acknowledge that a change in approach from blindly driving the expansion and intensification of dairy is desperately needed, not least to protect the dairy sector but also to protect all other sectors, because it is that green brand that is so valuable to this country and our exports that has to be protected. Does the Taoiseach agree?

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