Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent)
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Ms Meaney stated earlier on that the Department is talking to everybody. If it is talking to everybody, surely the hauliers are part of it. If they are part of that, how is it that they will be put out of business? If they are put out of business, that is the end, or is that the plan? If the Department is talking to everybody, surely the RSA and everybody are involved in this discussion. Ms Meaney will say she is only coming at it from an animal welfare perspective, which is hugely important and which I am not taking away from in any way, shape or form, but live exports are hugely important to the Irish market and if everybody is not singing from the one hymn sheet, there will be a problem. There is a problem here because the RSA has taken upon itself to decide it can go over to Cherbourg and dictate what is going on in what is, we are all aware, another person's country. The RSA seems to have incredible power when it suits them. Where that power is being driven from I would love to know, but that is something the Department cannot answer me.

Ms Meaney stated earlier on that the officials are sitting down around the table and they have talked to everybody. Surely the RSA will come into this discussion now. It is part of animal welfare because they are saying how this can be solved is by exporters organising another lairage for the calves, that it means a trip will take one day longer but that it means the drivers can keep their driving hours. There is obviously an hours issue for driving. That is important because it all relates to the live export of our calves. I cannot see any hauliers continuing if they are getting on-the-spot fines, thankfully, not for animal welfare issues but, maybe, for it being a half an hour or an hour over their time. There is a serious issue here. If the Department is saying it is sitting around the table talking to people and then it is saying on the other hand that that is not its issue to talk about, there is something wrong. I plead with the Department to sit around with everybody. That means the haulier, the farm organisations and the Department's side of it, which is very important too. I am not discrediting that in any way, shape or form. However, it also means the RSA. It means a whole pile of people need to be sitting around the table who are not sitting around the table already because this issue would not have been an issue if this was happening and if the discussions were taking place.