Irish MEP Ciaran Mullooly has said he will raise the issue of Ireland's live export capacity with the French president Emmanual Macron when he meets him as part of a group of MEPs.

A group of about 50 MEPs from the Renew Europe Group - which Mullooly's party, Independent Ireland, is a member of - is set to meet Macron early next month.

The French President's political party, Renaissance - formerly known as En Marche - is also a member of Renew Europe.

The meeting comes as part of Independent Ireland's engagement with live trade stakeholders following the decision of Brittany Ferries to cease transporting livestock.

As well as meeting Macron, and following a recent meeting with Brittany Ferries' CEO Christophe Mathieu, Mullooly told Agriland that he will also shortly meet with the chairperson of the ferry operator, Jean-Marc Roue, who is himself a working vegetable farmer.

Agriculture has played a key role in the history of Brittany Ferries.

The company was founded in 1973 by a prominent pig farmer in the Brittany region who wanted to exploit new agri-food trade opportunities with the UK, which had just joined the European Economic Community, the precursor to the EU.

Ahead of the upcoming meetings, Mullooly said that the decision by Brittany Ferries "should not be regarded as final".

He called for Irish, French and European authorities to work together to "protect Ireland's access to the EU Single Market".

He said that the issue has "moved beyond the decision of one ferry operator and now raises a fundamental question" about how an island member state can maintain "practical and reliable access to the EU single market for its agricultural products".

"Our farmers and livestock exporters have the right to compete for customers throughout the Single Market, but that right means very little unless we have the practical shipping capacity to get our livestock to those markets," Mullooly added.

"We have engaged directly with the company, with livestock exporters, farmers and the wider agricultural sector, and I believe there remains a case for further engagement at the highest political level," the Midlands-Northwest MEP said.

He said he will seek the support of Macron for renewed discussions involving the relevant French, Irish and European authorities , and Brittany Ferries.

Mullooly said that this "should not become a confrontation with Brittany Ferries", saying that the company has outlined the disruption it has experienced due to protests from animal activists at Portsmouth Port in the UK.

"What we need now is to determine whether governments, ports, the European institutions and the industry can...create the conditions in which this important service could be reconsidered," he added.

"If there is a willingness to talk, then our responsibility is to keep talking and to see whether the problems that contributed to this decision can be resolved," Mullooly said.

Independent Ireland also met with Irish Ferries last week to discuss that operator's intentions in relation to live trade; however, the party is yet to make a statement on the outcome of that meeting.