ICSA president Sean McNamara has said the Government needs to act now to secure the future of live exports, following a meeting of livestock exporters, farm organisations and farmers at the weekend. "At this important meeting organised by Independent Ireland, ICSA led the call for the establishment of a live exports taskforce, and all stakeholders present agreed that we need to work together on this. It is not enough for Department officials to monitor the situation. We need an action plan, and we need to act on it," he said.

 

Continuing, Mr McNamara said, "We need to immediately identify alternative shipping capacity and make sure the infrastructure is in place before the animals are ready to move. If we wait until cattle are ready to go, we have waited too long. We need to tackle the practical issues, including sourcing new boats, getting the timing of shipments right and having enough lairage capacity at the destination."

Mr McNamara said the loss of Brittany Ferries means less capacity and less competition for Irish livestock exports which is a serious concern for farmers. "The autumn weanling trade is getting going now and we need to know that there is enough capacity to get cattle to their markets when they need to go. The value of live exports cannot be measured only by the number of animals put on a boat. The existence of an alternative market affects the value of every animal sold in Ireland. If we lose that competition, farmers can lose out on the price they get for their cattle."

"We also need to have the capacity and infrastructure in place for next spring's calf export season. The work needs to start now. We cannot wait until next spring to discover that we do not have the capacity to move the cattle. There was wide consensus at the meeting that the future of live exports must be protected and that people are willing to work together to achieve this. The taskforce needs to be established now, with all stakeholders represented."