Danny Healy-Rae addressed a committee on live export and urged the Minister for Agriculture and the Department of Agriculture to protect livestock operators and the trade. He warned that without the live export market farmers would be at the mercy of processors and called for immediate action to support operators and transport arrangements.
Meeting highlights
Danny Healy-Rae described the session as one of the most advantageous meetings the committee has had and stressed the central role of live export for cattle, sheep and pigs. He pointed to the small number of operators and the absence of government subsidies, arguing that the Minister must fight proposed rules that could hamper the trade.
Operational realities
He outlined practical challenges faced by operators and farmers, including travel disruption, storms at sea and missed buyers, and emphasised the day-to-day importance of drivers and the entire supply chain. Healy-Rae urged immediate departmental intervention on issues such as vehicle loading arrangements and to ensure operators can continue without undue restriction.
Political consequences
He called on the committee to write to the Minister for Agriculture and the Department of Agriculture to highlight the findings of the meeting and to press for measures that protect the livestock trade. He stressed that elected representatives must be available to support operators and act proactively to preserve this market for farmers across rural Ireland.
We publish thousands of recordings to make Irish politics transparent and resistant to manipulation. Spotted an error? Report it — together we are building a reliable archive of Irish politics.
First of all, Cathaoirleach, I wish to say that this is one of the most advantageous meetings that this committee has had. And from the fact that's emerging here, and the value that live export and the part that it plays in our production of cattle here in the country, and indeed sheep and pigs, it's vital, because we would be at the mercy of the processors or the factories or whatever if we didn't have the livestock market operating as it is. And I'll just ask you a few quick questions in relation to everything. Are you getting any subsidy or any help at all from the Irish government or from the department or anyone? No. Well, in that regard, these rules that are to be brought in must be fought by the Minister for Agriculture and the Department of Agriculture, and to help these people, because as he said, is it 31 or 32 operators? 22, that's not even one for every one of the countries of the 26 countries. So it's vital. It's absolutely vital that this livestock trade continues, unimpeded in any way by any big rogers or by any of these activists that have, you know, go to their way to hurt farmers. And in relation to the removal of the third layer of calves from lorries, and considering the fact that we're the furthest away, the department needs to step in, and if there's a layer that's just needed, he must highlight it to us and to the department and to the Minister to ensure that he will always be operating, because we do need him. I mean, we'd be at the mercy of the factories if it weren't for him. And we know when there's storms in the sea and he can't travel, and when we're around the map trying to sell calves and eat the buyers are missing. We go home fairly small in the evening with hardly nothing. That's the truth. And we really depend on him, and anything that we can do as elected representatives, he must ask us and get us involved, and not when the thing is hurt or damaged, but we need to act on this thing right away, and I suppose, Chairman, we as a committee here must write to the Minister for Agriculture and the Department of Agriculture to highlight what we have learned here today, and to iterate how much we depend on these operators here, and we know that there will be other operators here as well today, but they're otherwise taken up, but we really appreciate, and the way you were able to depart with the knowledge and outline it here for us, we appreciate that also, because I can see that he knows what, from injecting a calf, putting him on the lorry and putting the driver behind the wheel, he knows every cog in the wheel that has to turn before he lands the calves to that destination, and we really appreciate it, and it's so important that he do keep operating, because like I said, fellows that go home with fairly low pockets a lot of times, and more often than not, if we didn't have the livestock trade, and to help it with the big rogers and the people that are trying to stop the live trade, we know, the likes of William, myself, and whoever else is farmers, we know what it means around the mats in Kinmare, or Castle Island, or Cairnside, or Skibbereen, or wherever it is, we know what goes on, and hear the difference of farmers surviving and farmers not, and we appreciate it very much, and look, any time that he wishes to come in here again, we'll ask the chairman, or he can ask the chairman, we'll always be there to help him.
Thank you for downloading 🙏
If you publish this material on social media, we would be very grateful if you tagged VideoParliament. It helps us reach more people and keep building a transparent archive of Irish politics.
