The Property Services Regulatory Authority (PSRA) has suspended the licence for Portumna Co-Operative Livestock Mart until Tuesday, May 13, 2025.

According to the PSRA, the mart is prohibited from trading during the period of the suspension of the licence.

The PSRA is the statutory body with responsibility for licensing and regulating the property services sector (auctioneers, estate agents, letting agents and property management agents) in Ireland.

In a statement to Agriland this morning, Tuesday, April 29, the PSRA said: "The Property Services Regulatory Authority sought and was granted sanction by the High Court to suspend the licence of Portumna Co-Operative Livestock Mart Limited (Licence Number 002097)."

The statement said that the licence suspension is "effective from April 28, 2025 until Tuesday, May 13, 2025, at which time the matter will be back before the High Court".

A spokesperson for Portumna Co-Operative Livestock Mart told Agriland: "The mart will be closed for two weeks and we hope to get up and running again in the next couple of weeks."

The spokesperson also confirmed that the temporary closure of the mart venue will have no impact on payments due to farmers for cattle sales.

Meanwhile, a total of 574,505 cattle passed through the country’s marts in the first quarter (Q1) of 2025, according to latest mart figures from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).

That marks a significant increase of over 60,500 head when compared with the first three months of 2024 (513,939).

The data shows that 564,139 cattle were sold in marts between January and March, which is up 14% or 70,000 head from the 493,806 sold in the same period last year.

The data shows that 10,366 cattle went unsold at marts and were returned home during the period, which is around half of the corresponding figure for Q1 2024 (20,133 unsold).